Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City in transfer battle for Gvardiol

Robin Bairner

• 9 Mar 2023 12:10 GMT
• 3 min read

Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City are set to lock horns in the transfer market this summer over RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol.

The Croatia star has enjoyed a stellar rise in prominence in recent months, aided by his strong performances at the 2022 World Cup, but while he was introduced to the wider public in Qatar, he was already a player being closely followed thanks to his strong displays in the Bundesliga.

Chelsea chased Gvardiol last summer and are set to pursue the 21-year-old once again this time around – but they will face increased competition.

EXCLUSIVE: Gvardiol leads Liverpool's four-man defensive shortlist

The Daily Mail reports that Liverpool and Manchester City also want the centre-back.

Gvardiol transfer latest

FootballTransfers revealed exclusively that Liverpool have Gvardiol at the top of their defensive shortlist as the summer transfer window approaches, information since echoed by several sources. The Anfield club, though, are not confident that they will have the financial strength to sign a player who has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €70 million.

Certainly, with Chelsea and Manchester City in the race, the Anfield club are facing a battle with two of the biggest spending teams in the Premier League and Leipzig will be eager to profit from that as much as possible.

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Manchester United have previously been linked with the defender, with Ralf Rangnick having told club officials as far back as 2021 that he was a “must buy”. With the Red Devils coming into the market for a centre-back, they may well also be in the running, though perhaps not at the prices being quoted unless a takeover has been completed by that point.

The Bundesliga club held firm in 2022 when the Blues approached with a reported bid in the region of €90m. Leipzig were after a figure in excess of €100m, which would make Gvardiol the first defender in the history of the game to make that price bracket.

Indeed, the left-sided centre-back has a release clause coming into force as of 2024 that will allow him to depart for €110m.

It is thought that Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City are trying to beat that, although it looks likely that Gvardiol’s transfer fee will be in that range in any case.