As Manchester City seem hell-bent on wrapping up a transfer for Josko Gvardiol, Owen Hargreaves’ verdict on him may encourage them even further.
Ahead of the Sky Blues’ 1-1 draw against RB Leipzig in the first leg of the Champions League last-16, the well-known pundit focused on the Croatian gem, who has been the talk of the town for a while now.
Owen Hargreaves lavished praise on to Josko Gvardiol, as relayed by Football.London, who has agreed personal terms with Manchester City, as per a revelation on Monday.
What Owen Hargreaves once said about Manchester City target Josko Gvardiol
With Aymeric Laporte touted to leave Pep Guardiola’s men, the RB Leipzig centre-half seems like his natural replacement.
In fact, it has been previously reported that the 21-year-old is the Sky Blues’ ‘main target’ of the summer transfer window.
Back in February, Owen Hargreaves reserved special praise for Josko Gvardiol, which should excite Manchester City fans.
“Best young centre back in the world — the first time I saw him I thought, ‘this guy can’t be this good.’
“Technically and physically on the ball he can come out with it, he dribbles as a centre back. I know you don’t really want that but the guy has everything.”
Owen Hargreaves also indicated that he was sure that a top club would eventually sign Josko Gvardiol, which could be the case as Manchester City seem like the frontrunners in the race to sign him.
“Whoever’s going to get him, because you know he’s going to go somewhere, he is going to give somebody a really special player. Obviously coming up against [Erling] Haaland tonight, it’s almost the perfect match-up.”
Easy to realise that Josko Gvardiol is a special talent
Owen Hargreaves’ summation of Josko Gvardiol was spot on, and is exactly why Manchester City intend to sign him.
Assessing his profile, the youngster is virtually flawless.
As a pure defender, Gvardiol’s reading of the game and tackling is outstanding, while he always knows when to go to ground.
Athletically, an attacker would need to be a physical specimen to come out on top against the Leipzig fan favourite.
And in possession, Josko Gvardiol is not only a brilliant passer but his ability to carry the ball out of defence is one of the best in the world, which makes him such a scary prospect.
