Chelsea are in advanced negotiations to pay €90 million to acquire RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol.
The 20-year-old Croatian player would transfer to Stamford Bridge the following summer after returning on loan to the Bundesliga club for the 2022–23 campaign.
Chelsea’s summer defense investment would exceed €281 million with the addition of Wesley Fofana to the already-signed Marc Cucurella and Kalidou Koulibaly.
According to reports, Chelsea and RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol are in advanced negotiations which will skyrocket Chelsea’s expenditure on the defense department.
The Blues would pay €90 million and loan the Croatian defender back to Leipzig for the remainder of the current campaign, according to reporter Fabrizio Romano. The next summer, Gvardiol would move to Chelsea permanently.
Gvardiol, a 20-year-old center-back for Croatia’s national team, has received a lot of interest from several European top clubs this summer.
However, it had been assumed that Gvardiol would not be moved in the current window due to the rumored existence of a release clause in his Leipzig deal that goes into effect next summer.
Only a year after joining Leipzig from Dinamo Zagreb, Gvardiol agreed to a new contract that included the €50 million release clause.
Tottenham and Manchester City expressed interest in Gvardiol as well, but they later withdrew their interest after learning about Leipzig’s position. Chelsea currently seems to have gotten ahead of the pack for the upcoming season.
The rumored agreement is structured similarly to Liverpool’s acquisition of Naby Keita.
The Guinean midfielder was transferred to Leipzig for the entire 2017–18 season before being sold to the Reds for €60 million the following year.
Leipzig set a record transfer sale with Keita, but Gvardiol would surpass it.
Guardiola was reportedly high on Chelsea’s desire list for transfers, according to Fabrizio Romano’s report from July. Thomas Tuchel is in love with this player, he declared at the time.
To sign Gvardiol, Chelsea would need a miracle, Romano said then, adding that Leipzig would not accept his departure this summer.
Chris Vivell, the technical director at Leipzig, claimed at the time that Gvardiol would not be permitted to leave the team this summer.
“The player had a huge market in England, but nothing came formally,” he claimed. “The summer has no sales.”
The center-back with a left foot, who can also play left-back, is very well-regarded.
In a report released on Monday by the Football Observatory, Gvardiol was ranked ahead of Barcelona forward Ansu Fati and Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga as the most promising player in the world born in 2002.
Additionally, he appeared on The Guardian’s 2019 “Next Generation” list.
Gvardiol’s Dinamo Zagreb academy coach Dalibor Poldrugac predicted his success when he was just 17 years old. He declared:
“Someone should go to jail for it if he isn’t a regular for Croatia’s senior squad by the time he turns 20.”
Josko Gvardiol’s football career
Josko Gvardiol is a Croatian professional football player who participates for both the Croatian national team and Bundesliga club RB Leipzig as a defender.
The current team of Josko Gvardiol;
The 20-year-old Josko Gvardiol plays for RB Leipzig in the German Bundesliga.
Chelsea’s interest in defenders:
This summer, Chelsea has already made substantial purchases, particularly in defense.
From Napoli, seasoned center defender Kalidou Koulibaly arrived and then left back Marc Cucurella of Brighton. Wesley Fofana, a defender for Leicester, is anticipated to join the Blues soon after.
They also failed in their effort to re-sign former Manchester City young star Nathan Ake.
With the addition of Gvardiol, Chelsea would have spent more than £300 million this summer just to fortify their defense, probably more than any other team in history.
