Audio By Carbonatix
Manchester City have agreed a 90m euro fee (£77m) with RB Leipzig for Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol.
The deal for the 21-year-old does not include add-ons, meaning the £80m Manchester United paid Leicester City for Harry Maguire in 2019 remains the British record for a defender.
He has been a key player for Leipzig in the 87 games he played since signing from Dynamo Zagreb in 2021.
It is expected Gvardiol will fly to England for a medical later this week
The deal looked unlikely to be agreed last week Leipzig when insisted they would not sell for less than €100m (£86m).
Manager Pep Guardiola believes Gvardiol will strengthen the left side of his central defence and, with Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake also able to fill that position, his arrival may put the future of Aymeric Laporte at Etihad Stadium under the microscope.
Gvardiol, who is also able to play left-back, becomes City's second major signing of the summer following the arrival of fellow Croatian Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea in June for an initial £25m.Kovacic will effectively replace Ilkay Gundogan in City's midfield after last season's captain joined Barcelona on a free transfer, while winger Riyad Mahrez moved to Saudi Arabia's Al-Ahli last week in a £30m deal.
Gvardiol, who has scored twice in his 21 caps for Croatia, helped his country finish third at the 2022 World Cup and runners-up to Spain in this year's Nations League.
He also won back-to-back titles with Zagreb, signing off with a league and cup double before making his move to the Bundesliga.
Leipzig also twice qualified for the Champions League during Gvardiol's time in the Germany as they finished fourth and third in the Bundesliga.
His old club were effectively knocked out of the Champions League twice in the past two seasons by the club he has now joined.
Leipzig finished third in a group topped by City in 2021-22 and lost 8-1 over two legs in the round of 16 last season, including a 7-0 defeat at the Etihad.
Latest Stories
-
ORC begins enforcement of GH¢500 penalty for failure to file beneficial ownership information
1 minute -
GRA assures it will meet GH¢225bn target for 2026 despite tax reform concerns
9 minutes -
Ofori-Atta Saga : Ex-appointees must face probes when invited – John Darko
15 minutes -
Haruna Mohammed rules out removal of names from NPP album
17 minutes -
Volta House of Chiefs nullifies enstoolment of Roland Adiko as paramount chief of Tanyigbe, affirms rotational succession
18 minutes -
FACT CHECK: Kennedy Agyapong’s claim that Adenta is a traditional NPP seat and that Bawumia did not campaign there is false
19 minutes -
Iran: Videos from mortuary show how deadly protests have become
21 minutes -
Over 2,000 screened as Ashanti Region Police recruitment exercise progresses
31 minutes -
Mallam Market chaos: Traders flout rules, crippling Accra-Kasoa Highway
31 minutes -
Preparations for NPP presidential primaries nearly complete — Haruna Mohammed
49 minutes -
AFCON 2025: the dominance of African coaches
51 minutes -
31 granted bail over illegal mining in Apramprama forest reserve
1 hour -
Son of Iran’s exiled late monarch urges supporters to replace embassy flags
1 hour -
Gold Empire Resources applauds gov’t crackdown on illegal mining; calls for prosecution of financiers and sponsors
1 hour -
Western North NPP raises alarm over cocoa sector neglect, cites lack of funds and jute sacks
2 hours
