It is a little ironic that Josko Gvardiol, labelled by his national team manager as ‘the world’s best centre back’ aged just 21, is perhaps best known for 12 seconds of embarrassment against Lionel Messi.
Those 12 seconds as he represented Croatia against Argentina in the World Cup semi-final, on a warm night in Lusail in December, saw Messi toy with him repeatedly, turn him inside and out, before setting up Julian Alvarez for the killer blow.
But Gvardiol is one of the most coveted players in world football after impressing for RB Leipzig and his country, with Manchester City reportedly making him one of their top transfer targets this summer.
The Treble winners are ready to step up their bid to sign the £86million-rated left-footed star described as manager Pep Guardiola‘s ‘absolute dream’.
Here Mail Sport analyses the ace City could make the most expensive defender of all time, ask if he is worth the price tag, and poses how and where he would fit in at the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City are ‘stepping up their attempts’ to sign RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol
The German side want £86million for the Croatian centre half, with City ‘targeting him heavily’
Mail Sport analyses the man City could make the most expensive defender of all time, ask if he is worth the price tag, and how he would fit in at City under Pep Guardiola (pictured)
What’s the latest with City and Gvardiol?
As reported by Mail Sport‘s transfer insider Simon Jones on Sunday, City will step up efforts to sign Gvardiol after he indicated to RB Leipzig he is ready to leave.
German side Leipzig are holding out for £86m for the 21-year-old, given previous club Dinamo Zagreb are understood to have a sell-on clause of around 20 per cent.
Reports from Foot Mercato had earlier claimed the club are ready to break the bank in order to bring the centre half to Manchester.
It was claimed City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain has already met with the player’s representatives regarding a potential transfer and Gvardiol has reportedly already agreed personal terms to join the Champions League winners.
Guardiola is looking to secure his major deals early in a bid to waste no time in beginning preparations for the upcoming campaign.
And the Athletic state City’s main transfer target is Gvardiol after securing a deal for Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic on Tuesday. Kovacic’s relationship with Gvardiol could grease the wheels too.
Guardiola generally gets the players he wants – and it looks as if Gvardiol will be next. He did sign a new four-year deal last September, supposedly keeping him in Leipzig until 2027, though it looks very unlikely he will see that out fully.
It is claimed City chief Txiki Begiristain (right) has already met with Gvardiol’s representatives
Mateo Kovacic completed a move to Manchester City as the champions’ first summer signing
Is he worth that?
That’s a tricky question to answer.
A fee of £86m (€100m) would make him the joint-12th most expensive transfer of all time, level with Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale’s moves to Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo’s switch to Juventus.
It would also surpass Harry Maguire’s £80m transfer to Manchester United as the biggest fee for a defender ever. It’s a heck of a lot of money, and only a handful of teams in the world could afford him.
Is he the best centre back in the world, as Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic claimed, after a masterclass in a 0-0 draw against Belgium that saw the nation progress to the knockout stages in Qatar? Probably not. But he is probably the most promising defender in the world.
He is first choice for the world’s seventh-ranked side, with 21 caps already, and at the age of just 21 has 140 senior games under his belt, most in the Bundesliga, with 12 Champions League appearances. Those numbers will surely rise very soon.
If City buy him, they can allow him a year or so to develop and adapt to Guardiola’s style of play and stringent demands, before building a defence around him for the next decade.
So it may be too early to definitely say he is worth that kind of money – resounding judgements may have to wait until we see him on the pitch in England. But is he worth the risk? For sure.
Also, if City or another club don’t buy him before summer 2024, his release clause will jump to £97m. Even more reason to move now.
Gvardiol is a world-class left-footed defender and has an eye for goal too, as shown above
If City pay £86m for him he will surpass Harry Maguire as the world’s most expensive defender
Why are so many clubs keen?
World-class centre backs are at a premium, especially those who are just 21, and even more so those who are left-footed. Gvardiol is all of those three things. You can see why Leipzig have internally labelled him ‘the Erling Haaland of defending’.
Watching him play, he is a very nicely balanced and complete player. He is aggressive – decisive in stepping out of defence to claim loose balls and often sliding in like Man United right back Aaron Wan-Bissaka to toe the ball away – but not rash.
He can be a little over-eager at times, though, meaning he can be rolled a little too easily. And his confidence on the ball and strong self-belief can occasionally cross the line into complacency.
He is ‘old-fashioned’ in so much as he posseses a wholehearted, passionate and proactive approach to defending but is also capable of nerveless backheels to his goalkeeper and Cruyff turns past attackers while acting as the last man.
He is a progressive passer, versatile enough to play at left back, comfortable on the ball and has an eye for goal too, scoring against City in last season’s Champions League and against Morocco at the World Cup.
As described by the Athletic, one of his nicknames is ‘Little Pep’, and not only due to their surnames being alike. Like Pep, he began his career in central midfield – and the City boss has reportedly held informal talks with him over his future.
Chelsea admire him greatly and were previously at the head of the queue but are well-stocked, particularly in his favoured left centre back position. Real Madrid are unlikely to be willing or able to pay the fee Leipzig want, especially with plenty of strong defensive options like David Alaba, Eder Militao and Antonio Rudiger already on their books.
Jurgen Klopp wants him but Liverpool’s priority is not at centre back, while Juventus are building around Gleison Bremer and there is plenty of uncertainty surrounding the club at the moment. He’s also been top of Tottenham’s wishlist for two years.
He is one of the most coveted players in world football due to his maturity and passing ability
He narrowly missed out on the FIFA Young Player award after a stellar World Cup in December
Bouncing back from Messi embarrassment
Yes, Messi stood him up in Qatar.
And that, unfairly, meant the rest of Gvardiol’s largely excellent performances in Qatar were forgotten, reduced to a viral social media clip lasting a fifth of a minute.
After beating Japan on penalties in the last 16, team-mate Borna Sosa said: ‘He plays like he has 100 caps for the national team. But that is what happens when God gives you everything.’
And his career will not be defined by 12 seconds against probably the best footballer ever to play the game. He is far more than those mistakes.
Indeed, it will prove to be a valuable learning experience for the young man.
He rebounded to score and be named man of the match against Morocco in the third-place play-off and narrowly missed out to Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez for the FIFA Young Player award.
He was embarrassed by Lionel Messi (left) at the World Cup but will be able to bounce back
How and where would he fit in at City?
Yes, City already have five centre backs at the club, but with Aymeric Laporte set to leave, Gvardiol would be poised to take his place in the squad.
Like Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake, he can cover left back in a group of four, and may even eventually be able to act as one of the double midfied pivots, which John Stones and Rico Lewis have done so brilliantly in Guardiola’s 3-2-4-1 formation.
He might well act as a squad player for the first season or so, with Akanji or Ake acting as the starting left centre back alongside Ruben Dias and Stones or Kyle Walker.
In short, it’s not hard to see how Guardiola could fit in a man of his abundant talent should he walk through the door this summer.
