Chelsea have submitted an offer for RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol in the hope of bringing him to the Premier League, according to fresh reports.
Is Josko Gvardiol leaving RB Leipzig?
The Croatian international still has another four years remaining on his deal at the Red Bull Arena, but after being one of the standout performers for his nation at the 2022 World Cup which saw him play the full 690 minutes of the tournament, he’s been long on the radar of Todd Boehly at Stamford Bridge.
Marc Rose’s centre-back was the subject of a turned down offer from the Blues last year, with Fabrizio Romano revealing when speaking to GiveMeSport:
“They were the first to approach Leipzig last summer because they were pushing for Gvardiol. In the final days of the window, they had a bid rejected. It was €80m [£68m] plus add-ons making it closer to €90m [£77m] to leave the player on loan at Leipzig for one season and then sign him in the summer of 2023. Leipzig said no and they extended his contract.”
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During a public interview earlier this year, the 21-year-old admitted that he “really struggled” to come to terms with being denied the chance to complete the move, but if the following update is to be believed, Mauricio Pochettino is planning to take a third bite of the cherry.
Are Chelsea signing Josko Gvardiol?
According to Spanish reports (via Paisley Gates), Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United have all submitted offers to sign Gvardiol ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
The Premier League trio are "pressing" to land the defender and are looking to "take advantage" of the fact that he's not yet joined Manchester City despite there having been a previous agreement in place.
RB Leipzig value their prized asset at €100m (£86m), though it remains to be seen whether any of the three clubs would be willing to pay the desired fee.
At the World Cup, Gvardiol was dubbed a “gladiator” by journalist Ryan Taylor for his performances for Croatia and that high standard of displays continued into the rest of the season with RB Leipzig, so should he put pen to paper, it would be a massive coup for Pochettino and Chelsea.
The Zagreb native last term averaged 2.3 clearances and 1.4 aerial wins per league game, via WhoScored, alongside winning 17 out of his 23 tackles, highlighting just how much of a rock he can be at the heart of the backline, though he can also be a threat driving forward.
The Bundesliga’s left-footed gem ranked in the 96th percentile for most successful take-ons showing that he loves to bring the ball out from the defence and dribble past his marker, not to mention that he’s scored five goals and provided three assists during his time in Germany.
Finally, Gvardiol, also labelled as "fearless" by former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand, will already know what it takes to compete and be successful at the highest level having secured five trophies since the start of his career so he could be the perfect candidate to walk through the door and instil a winning mentality in SW6.
