RB Leipzig are ‘ready to talk’ with Manchester City about a deal for defender Josko Gvardiol, with the need to bring in transfer funds opening them to the possibility of selling.
That’s according to BILD, who say that, as was the case last year, Manchester City are keen on the Croatian defender as they look to bolster their squad for next season.
The newspaper explains that, officially, Leipzig don’t want to sell the defender and have made it clear that Gvardiol is not for sale.
However, the reality is very different and if anyone is to offer €100m for him, they are ‘ready to talk’ about a possible departure from the club.
That’s because of the club’s finances, which need to be balanced out this summer, with those in charge setting an ‘internal financial target’ of bringing in ‘well over €100m’ in transfer fees for some of their biggest stars.
Gvardiol can certainly be classified as that after his rapid rise in the Bundesliga and impressive performances at the World Cup in Qatar, one Lionel Messi dribble non-withstanding.
That has earned him plenty of attention and Manchester City have been credited with interest for a while, with it even stated last month that they had intensified contacts over a possible deal.
The belief had always been that Leipzig simply weren’t open to discussing it but it seems that is not the case and their need for money has opened up the doors for Pep Guardiola to get his man.
