27 July 2023 , 22:01
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Manchester City have been given a two-week deadline to seal an £87million deal for RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol.
The German club are lining up potential replacements for the 21-year-old Croatian centre-back and they want to finalise coach Marco Rose's squad before they meet Bayern Munich in the German Super Cup on August 12. Leipzig won the German Cup last season.
City are willing to hand the Bundesliga club their full valuation - but their offer is made up of a £77m payment upfront and a package of add-ons that Leipzig feel are unrealistic. Gvardiol is one of the most exciting young defenders in the world after reaching the World Cup semi-finals with Croatia and was linked with a move to Chelsea a year ago.
City have made just one major signing this summer in Gvardiol's compatriot Mateo Kovavic, who completed a £25m move from Chelsea last month. The likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Shea Charles and James Trafford have left Pep Guardiola's squad.
Gvardiol is keen to join Guardiola's Treble winners, but is currently locked away in the Austrian Tyrol as Rose steps up his pre-season preparations. Leipzig are delighted that the defender has not been trying to force them to sell despite his desire to join City.
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Leipzig are keen to challenge Bayern for the Bundesliga title after making significant progress in recent years. Rose's side, who were only formed 14 years ago, finished third in the Bundesliga and won a second successive German Cup last term.
Leipzig have enquired about Feyenoord defender Lutsharel Geertruida as a potential replacement for Gvardiol, but would not be willing to meet their £40m asking price unless they get full value from City. The 23-year-old helped Feyenoord win the Eredivisie title last term and has won three senior caps for the Netherlands.
Josko Gvardiol is one of the most exciting young defenders in European football (Getty Images)Who do you think Manchester City should sign this summer? Let us know in the comments below!
Leipzig are also monitoring Lyon's Castello Lukeba as an alternative. The 20-year-old defender has played 68 first-team games for Lyon during the last two seasons and is part of France's U21 squad, but he is yet to earn his maiden senior cap.
Leipzig are trying to line up a deal before they sell Gvardiol because they fear clubs will bump up their prices if they add more money to their bulging bank account.
They have already banked plenty of cash this summer by selling Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai to Liverpool for £60m and French striker Christopher Nkunku to Chelsea for £52m. Both players will be a huge loss to Leipzig. Szoboszlai scored 10 goals and provided 13 assists last season, while Nkunku has found the net 58 times since August 2021.
Sporting director Max Eberl has said: "Financially we are fine. We have sold big and we have done good incoming deals. We have done 16 transfers in total and our 29-man squad is perfect if Gvardiol stays."