Chelsea, Liverpool, and Man City handed major transfer blow following Josko Gvardiol decision

A trio of Premier League clubs have been handed a major blow in their hopes of landing Josko Gvardiol this summer, it has been reported.

Manchester City are understood to be keen admirers of the Croatia international, and view the Leipzig man as a potential successor to Aymeric Laporte – who could leave the Etihad Stadium this summer in pursuit of increased game time.

Pep Guardiola himself had a personal conversation with the player after Manchester City’s recent Champions League meeting with RB Leipzig, as the Premier League side cruised to an 8-1 aggregate victory in the last-16 of the competition.

Speaking during a recent interview, Josko Gvardiol revealed, “I congratulated Pep Guardiola. He threw a few words at me, but I will keep them to myself… RB Leipzig is not interested in selling me this summer, there is no point in talking about anything else.”

Despite the admiration from Manchester City officials as well as head coach Pep Guardiola, interest in the player could be a non-starter as the summer transfer window approaches, with a strong stance taken from the side of Leipzig.

That is according to the information of Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, who reports that officials at RB Leipzig ‘definitely’ want to keep Josko Gvardiol until at least the summer of 2024.

As such, it is strongly stated that the Bundesliga club are not considering a sale of the Croatian defender this summer, and that even an offer of around €100 million would not change their mind on the future of the player.

In further confirmation of previous reports, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool are all listed as being interested parties for the signature of the 21 year-old centre-back.

Alternative options for Manchester City are seemingly few and far between this summer, with a lack of reports surrounding the Etihad club’s hunt for a new central defender.

However, David Ornstein of the Athletic recently revealed that City had proposed a deal worth €12 million for Josko Gvardiol’s fellow Croatian centre-back Luka Vuskovic, comprising of an initial €10 million plus €2 million in potential add-ons.

The 16 year-old is more likely to join Manchester City as a player for the future, joining the club’s academy system or even head back out on loan, should an agreement be reached between themselves and Hajduk Split.