Manchester City finally agree deal for RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol

Pep Guardiola’s team have been in the transfer market for a defender, and have identified Gvardiol as a good fit for the team.

According to reports, City are expected to pay a fee worth £78 million for the Leipzig defender.

The youngster is viewed as a force who can be around for the next ten years, and his arrival should be announced in the next few days. 

According to Tuesday's Mail Sport story, Pep Guardiola's team wants to finalise the transfer before their Community Shield match against Arsenal on Sunday.

The Leipzig defender will watch the games against Sint-Truidense and Altglienicke from the stands after being left out of the team for the doubleheader.

Dinamo Zagreb, Gvardiol's former club in Croatia, is expected to get 20% of the transfer cost, which would be a sizable sum of money for the club.

Leipzig wanted the negotiations to wrap up quickly with Guardiola also eager to get his man in the door.

Meanwhile, Mateo Kovacic, a new City player and Gvardiol's teammate for Croatia, believes the defender is prepared for this next phase of his career.

He said as reported by Daily Mail, “Josko has great potential. He can come here and learn and be the best version of himself. 

“I’d obviously like it — I’m a good friend with him and he’s Croatian. It would be nice to have a Croatian by my side here. He’s already played a lot of big games. He is ready for this step.” 

Gvardiol had one of his best years in the 2022/2023 season and also helped his country Croatia secure a third-place position at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.