Sport
Manchester City finally agree deal with RB Leipzig to sign Joško Gvardiol for £77.6m
After weeks of messy reporting and delays, it is now rumoured his medical could be sorted by Friday.
Danny Jones -
2nd August 2023 
Manchester City have finally met RB Leipzig’s asking price and are set to sign long-running transfer target, Joško Gvardiol, as early as this week after much confusion as to whether or not an agreement had been over the past fortnight.
Gvardiol has been on Man City‘s watchlist for some time and although the 21-year-old is still technically contracted to the Bundesliga side, it was initially suggested that a deal between the two clubs may have been struck almost a fortnight ago.
It looked like things were all done and dusted when football journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano tweeted his trademark “here we go!” on 19 July, but the post was then deleted according to community guidelines after Leipzig’s manager and their sporting director refuted the claims.
Stating that City’s interest was genuine but that the two clubs were “still very far apart” on valuation, Blues were left none the wiser as to where the deal was at. Nevertheless, Romano insisted that the deal was still “absolutely on” and, according to the latest reports, the paperwork is now soon to be finalised.
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As per Sky Sports, City and Leipzig reached an agreement over the sale of Gvardiol on Friday, 2 August and while it was initially said to be a record-breaking fee for a defender — surpassing Harry Maguire to Manchester United in 2019 (£80 million) — the estimated fee is said to be just shy of that figure.
The German club will reportedly receive a whopping €90 million (£77.6m) for the young centre-back and utility defender, with Gvardiol set to sign a long-term contract, although the exact length is yet to be confirmed. His former team Dinamo Zagreb is also set to receive a 20% windfall thanks to a sell-on clause.
Speaking before any sort of confirmation, fellow new signing and countryman Mateo Kovačić said that his national teammate “has great potential” and can “take the next step” in his career by coming to the Etihad, adding that he’d obviously love to have a “good friend and fellow Croatian by [his] side.”
With a deal now supposedly agreed upon, some reports are suggesting that City are pushing to complete the transfer by Friday at the latest and perhaps even have him train with the squad ahead of the Community Shield against Arsenal on Sunday, 6 August.
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Featured Image — Joško Gvardiol (via Instagram)
