Graeme Souness has shared why he believes that Josko Gvardiol will prove to be a great signing for Manchester City.
City spent much of the summer pursuing Gvardiol, and last week they finally got their hands on the 21-year-old centre-back.
The treble winners signed Gvardiol from RB Leipzig for £77.5m, with the Croatia international penning a five-year deal – with the option of an additional year – at the Etihad Stadium.
Souness backs Gvardiol to succeed
While Pep Guardiola already had five central defenders in his squad, former Liverpool star Souness believes Gvardiol is an excellent addition.
“The biggest thing in Gvardiol’s favour is that City make fewer mistakes in the transfer window than anyone else,” Souness told the Daily Mail.
MORE MAN CITY STORIES
“They have football people making football decisions alongside Pep Guardiola. The fact they have spent big on this Croatia centre-back, I trust their judgment.
“He’s got a good profile and, at big money, it will be interesting to see how he fares against better forwards than he faced in Germany.”
Gvardiol was City’s second signing of the summer transfer window, following the £25m capture of midfielder Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea.
On that deal, Souness said: “He is a smart signing for what City need after losing their captain Ilkay Gundogan. He can play and will work hard.
“Can he add goals at City, like Gundogan did? If so, they’ve got a great deal at £25m.”
City’s transfer business this summer might not end there though.
The Premier League champions have entered negotiations with West Ham for midfielder Lucas Paqueta, although they reportedly had a second bid worth £87m rejected.
City, along with Chelsea, are also considering a move for Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise, while they retain an interest in Stade Rennais winger Jeremy Doku.
Any new signings will arrive after the start of the season, with City set to begin their Premier League title defence against Burnley on Friday evening.