Man City have ‘no agreement’ in place for Josko Gvardiol claims RB Leipzig chief Max Eberl…with the treble winners keen to seal record-breaking £90m deal for the Croatian defender
- RB Leipzig director claims there’s no agreement for defender Josko Gvardiol
- The Croatian defender looked set to join Manchester City in a £90m deal
- A deal to City would make the Croatian the world’s most expensive defender
RB Leipzig have claimed their has been no agreement with Manchester City over Josko Gvardiol, despite reports the defender is about to join the club.
It had looked like the Croatian was on the verge of sealing a deal to join the treble winners, with City set to smash their transfer record by signing the centre-back in a £90m deal.
Talks were said to be at the final stages between the two clubs, but speaking to Sky Sports in Germany, Leipzig’s director of sport Max Eberl has denied that Gvardiol is close to moving to the Premier League.
‘There is no agreement with Manchester City. Not even close.’ said Eberl.
‘The fact is that Man City would like to have him. Currently we are still very far apart.
Josko Gvardiol had been expected to sign for Man City in a record £90m deal for a defender
RB Leipzig director Max Eberl claims no agreement has been made with Gvardiol and City
The transfer of Szoboszlai has secured us financially. We don’t need the money. We would prefer Josko to stay.’
Gvardiol is one of Europe’s most highly-rated defenders and starred for Croatia at the 2022 World Cup, where the Croatians finished in third place.
Since joining Leipzig in 2020, the 21-year-old has made 88 appearances for the club and helped the side win back-to-back German cups.
The centre-back has won 21 caps for his country, and would add further depth to a City defence that already boasts Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji.
If he were to join Man City, the fee would eclipse the current world record fee for a defender, which remains the £80m Man Utd paid Leicester for Harry Maguire in 2019.
However, the German club have already lost both Christopher Nkunku and Dominik Szoboszlai this summer and would prefer not to sell another prize asset.
The defender was one of Croatia’s standout stars as they finished third at the 2022 World Cup
City have already added Gvardiol’s fellow countrymanMateo Kovacic to their squad so far this summer, with the midfielder arriving in a £25m deal from Chelsea following Ilkay Gundogan’s exit to Barcelona.
They are set to also lose Riyad Mahrez too, with the Algerian on his way to becoming the latest Premier League player to be seduced by a move to the Saudi Pro League and signing for Al-Ahli.
The winger will sign a three-year deal with the club after City agreed a £30m deal, where he’ll join Roberto Firmino and Edouard Mendy.
