Manchester City are on the brink of finalising the signing of Josko Gvardiol after reaching an agreement with RB Leipzig for a fee of £77.5 million (€90 million).
Pep Guardiola has been pursuing the 21-year-old defender throughout the summer, but the two clubs initially struggled to find common ground on the transfer fee.
RB Leipzig reportedly set a deadline of August 12 for Manchester City to reach a deal, as they needed sufficient time to find a suitable replacement for Gvardiol.
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Manchester City and Leipzig are ironing out final details of agreement for Joško Gvardiol deal — to be signed by end of the week 🚨🔵🇭🇷 #MCFC
Player to have medical on Friday, if all goes to plan.
Deal in place for €90m fee, Gvardiol set to become the most expensive CB ever. pic.twitter.com/DWO1s0QLD7
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 2, 2023
Finally, today, City and Leipzig managed to agree on the fee, paving the way for the Croatian defender to join the Premier League champions.
The fee agreed is just below the £80m Manchester United paid for Harry Maguire in 2019 which made him the most expensive defender in the world.
Once the deal is finalized, Gvardiol will become Manchester City’s second signing of the summer, following the signing of Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea for £25 million.