Pep Guardiola receives major boost in Manchester City pursuit of €100M-rated Bundesliga defender

RB Leipzig are open to discussing a potential exit for Manchester City target Joško Gvardiol due to internal financial restraints, as per a new report.

The Premier League champions were linked with a swoop for the 21-year-old Croatian defender last summer before a deadline day deal saw Manuel Akanji swap Borussia Dortmund for City.

City remain on course to pull off a historic treble this season after lifting their third straight league title on Sunday – ahead of upcoming FA Cup and Champions League finals against Manchester United and Inter.

There have been question marks over Aymeric Laporte’s long-term future in England in recent months, with the Spain international falling down Guardiola’s pecking order.

Often on the bench in crux league and cup games throughout the second half of the ongoing campaign, there have been indications that Laporte is set to part ways with the Blues in the summer.

The 28-year-old joined Manchester City for £57 million midway through their record-breaking 2017/18 campaign where they won the Premier League amassing a 100-point tally.

Laporte has been a first-team regular for a heavy majority of his time in Manchester but the form showed by the likes of John Stones, Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake in the latter stages of the season have kept the Spaniard out of the fold.

In fact, the France-born centre half was spotting tearing up amidst Manchester City’s title-winning celebrations following their 1-0 triumph over Chelsea at the weekend – which could indeed mean an exit is near for Laporte.

However, Manchester City could have a replacement lined up for Laporte as RB Leipzig are willing to listen to offers reaching €100 million for Josko Gvardiol in the upcoming transfer window, as reported by BILD and relayed by Sport Witness.

Though the German club have maintained that their star defender is not for sale, internal financial difficulties at RB Leipzig mean the club are open to cashing in on Gvardiol to bring in revenue.

It remains unlikely that Manchester City spend heavily in defence this summer, with midfield understood to be the main area that will witness strengthening amid uncertainty over the respective futures of Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan at the Etihad Stadium.