According to Fabrizio Romano, Manchester City have reached an agreement with RB Leipzig for Josko Gvardiol. The player has completed the first part of a medical for the club. However, it seems there are some complications during the final stage of negotiations.
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Manchester City Agree Terms for Josko Gvardiol
Last Word on Football have live-streamed a discussion over why Raphinha is an almost perfect acquisition for City. Watch below:
How Much Did Manchester City Agree to Pay for Josko Gvardiol?
The agreed fee for the Centre-back is believed to be £86.7 million. Romano previously reported that personal terms were agreed between the Croatian and Manchester City last month. The emerging star has attracted plenty of praise for his performances for Leipzig and his national side. Gvardiol stood out as a vital component of Croatia’s World Cup run to third place. At the time, he was just 20 years old.
Why Did Manchester City Target Josko Gvardiol?
The centre-back seems to be a natural fit for the team’s tactical identity. Whilst Guardiola has recently looked to play a more physical line of defenders, his centre-backs must be exceptional at ball progression and retention.
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Last season, Gvardiol was in the 99th percentile of passes attempted per 90 (87.18) and completed 89% of those passes. Additionally, he completed 4.45 progressive carries a game, placing him amongst the elite in Europe. Gvardiol’s on-ball statistics place him compare favourably to future teammate Ruben Dias in ability. He has also been previously described as “incredible.”
How Gvardiol Fits at Manchester City
While Gvardiol is certainly an exceptionally technical player, he still does the defensive basics to an impressive level. Like Ruben Dias, he is willing to throw himself at the ball to block passes, crosses and shots around the box. This was best highlighted by his performance against Brazil in Croatia’s World Cup run to the Semi-Finals.
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The Croatian has exceptional strength and uses his shoulders to unbalance forwards and shield the ball. His mixture of physical and technical traits are very similar to that of future teammate Dias. Gvardiol would be a great addition for the Citizens, but Romano has reported that the deal is not yet complete, with some tension between the clubs due to a leak detailing the agreement regarding the transfer fee. The deal is still on according to the update, but with no green light for the completion of the player’s medical.
Mikey Flickr, Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC BY 2.0).
