Manchester City are pushing hard to finalise a deal for RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol, sources have told 90min.
The 21-year-old has emerged as one of City’s primary transfer targets this summer, and talks have been ongoing with Leipzig over a deal that would make the Croatian the most expensive defender of all time.
Personal terms are all but agreed with Gvardiol, who has made it clear to Leipzig that he wants to join the champions of Europe.
Leipzig have publicly stated that City will need to fork out close to €100m (£86m) plus add-ons in order to land Gvardiol, and last season’s treble winners recognise that they will need to make him the most expensive defender ever, eclipsing the £80m fee neighbourhood rivals Manchester United paid Leicester for Harry Maguire in 2019.
If and when the deal is finalised, Gvardiol will become City’s second most expensive acquisition – Jack Grealish’s £100m move from Aston Villa being the current club record.
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90min understands that City feel a deal is close, but it is the overall structure of payments that still needs to be ironed out. Nevertheless, there is an expectation from all parties that a deal will be completed before City travel to Asia for a pre-season tour later this month – their first game is in Tokyo against Yokohama F. Marinos on July 23rd.
Leipzig, while standing firm on their valuation, are already sourcing potential replacements for Gvardiol, and sources have confirmed that talks are at advanced stage with Feyenoord over Dutch defender Lutsharel Geertruida.
The highly-rated 22-year-old is valued in excess of €25m by the Eredivisie champions, who have already turned down two bids from Leipzig. But Geertruida is believed to have accepted the personal terms on offer to him in the Bundesliga and is keen to make the move.
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On this week’s edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth, Graeme Bailey and Sean Walsh to discuss Man Utd’s priorities after agreeing a deal for Mason Mount, the latest on Arsenal’s move for Declan Rice, Tottenham’s targets and more!
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