Manchester City chase Josko Gvardiol but RB Leipzig demand at least £86m

English champions working on fee after agreeing personal terms

CITIZEN? RB Leipzig's Josko Gvardiol during the UEFA Champions League, Group A match at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester. 

Manchester City are exploring the possibility of signing Josko Gvardiol but RB Leipzig are wanting more than €100m (£86m) for the centre-back.

It is understood that the player is open to the move and that personal terms have been agreed but the transfer fee could be a stumbling block. A fee of at least €100m would make the Croat the most expensive central defender ever.

Leipzig would prefer to keep the 21-year-old, and are under no pressure to sell one of their star assets as Gvardiol signed a new contract until 2027, having been linked with a move to Chelsea last summer. The London club instead signed Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli and Wesley Fofana from Leicester.

Gvardiol had an international breakthrough during the World Cup in Qatar at the end of last year, but accept that if the offer is too good to turn down they will allow him to leave. He came through the Dinamo Zagreb youth system and joined Leipzig in 2020.

He already has 21 caps for Croatia and the added advantage is that he can play as a left-back too. The Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, is a huge admirer of the player and has made him one of his top targets this summer.

If Gvardiol does end up signing for City, he will join a long list of central defenders already at the club: Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Aké and John Stones, with Guardiola increasingly keen to play them in the full-back positions too.

Guardian