Transfer Centre

Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea 'all make offers for Josko Gvardiol'

By Matt Law, Football Editor | 11 December 2022

Man United, Man City, Chelsea 'all make offers for Josko Gvardiol'

Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea all lodge bids for RB Leipzig central defender Josko Gvardiol, according to a report.

Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea have reportedly all lodged bids for RB Leipzig central defender Josko Gvardiol.

The 20-year-old has been in excellent form at the 2022 World Cup, playing every minute of Croatia's five matches at the competition against Morocco, Canada, Belgium, Japan and Brazil.

Zlatko Dalic's side have reached the semi-finals of the tournament, with Argentina their opponents in the final four on Tuesday ahead of a possible final with either Morocco or France.

No decision on Gvardiol's future will be made until after the World Cup, but there is currently widespread speculation surrounding a possible move away from Leipzig.

According to Foot Mercato, Man United, Man City and Chelsea have all made offers for the centre-back.

RB Leipzig's Josko Gvardiol pictured on August 7, 2022 © Reuters

The report claims that the offers from Man United and Chelsea are between €90m (£77.4m)-€95m (£81.7m), while Man City have submitted a bid of €100m (£86m) including bonuses.

Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona are also said to be interested, but it is believed that the Croatia wants to move to the Premier League.

Gvardiol's agent Marjan Sisic has said that his client is "totally happy" at Leipzig despite the speculation.

"Regarding a possible transfer in summer 2023 we are not in a hurry and I can make clear that there are no pre-agreements with any clubs, German journalist Florian Plettenberg quotes Sisic as saying.

"For sure, a lot of top clubs have informed about him but Josko has a long-term contract in Leipzig. Josko feels totally happy in Leipzig. His development is amazing and RB [Leipzig] is playing very good under Marco Rose."

RB Leipzig's Josko Gvardiol pictured on January 23, 2022 © Reuters

The youngster entered the World Cup off the back of a strong start to the season for Leipzig, making 19 appearances in all competitions, scoring once, with four of those outings coming in the Champions League.

In total, Gvardiol has made 65 appearances for Leipzig in all competitions, contributing three goals and four assists in the process.

"About me and Chelsea? I don't know. You know what happened in the last few months. To be honest, I have no idea," he recently told The Athletic.

"My agent is taking care of this and we will see. Right now, I'm happy in Leipzig. I don't know, we will see - you never know. You know the stories and these things, but all I can say is that I'm happy in Leipzig and right now I'm going to stay there and perform for them."

Gvardiol made the move to Leipzig from Dinamo Zagreb in July 2021, and his current contract is due to run until June 2027, placing the Bundesliga side in a strong position to demand a high transfer fee.