Man City agree £77.5m fee for Josko Gvardiol

Manchester City want to sign Josko Gvardiol of RB Leipzig this summer to strengthen their defence.

Manchester City have agreed a transfer fee of just €90m for RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiola. Josko Gvardiol watched RB Leipzig’s friendly against St Truiden from the stands on Wednesday and City have agreed a transfer fee for the Croatian defender ahead of his Etihad move.

City had their sights set on Gvardiol all summer and Leipzig set a transfer deadline before the start of the season to give them time to find a replacement.

The 21-year-old will now travel to Manchester for a medical later this week and terms have been agreed, although there is no time limit to finalize the deal ahead of Sunday’s Community Shield.

The €90m (£77.5m) fixed transfer fee for Gvardiol is less than the £80m Manchester United paid for Harry Maguire in 2019, meaning Gvardiol will not become the world’s most expensive defender, although there are reports who deviate from it. The contract contains no extras.

Gvardiol is set to join fellow countryman Mateo Kovacic in the summer, taking City’s spending to £103m. It is believed that Gvardiol could play an important role in City’s defense over the next decade.Kovacic said last week that he would like to include Gvardiol in the squad: “I know he is very young and has great potential. He can come here, learn and be the best version of himself, he wants to be sure.”

“But it’s not for me to comment if it’s going to happen or not. 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 still young but he’s very mature for his age. He doesn’t need too much advice. He’s already played a lot of big games and I think he’s ready for this step. He had a great World Cup and a great season with RB Leipzig so it would be nice for him to join such a big club and try to improve even more.”