Manchester City are a club almost intrinsically linked with enormous riches in the modern game, but surprisingly they don’t really throw around their weight in the transfer market, and by and large their business is done on the quiet without the need to completely empty the war chest. 

There are of course exceptions – Jack Grealish joining for £100million two years ago immediately springs to mind – but for the most part City’s vast scouting network tend to identify a target and pursue them throughout the summer until they can get them to sign on the dotted line without being drawn into wearisome sagas. 

As with Erling Haaland last summer City identified their man very early on, and barring a brief look-in at Declan Rice, remained entirely focused on bringing Josko Gvardiol to the Etihad, and after agreeing a £78m fee with RB Leipzig, they look to have secured their No 1 target for the new season. 

At 21 years old, the versatile defender has already played 21 times for Croatia and was called up to both the 2020 European Championship and the 2022 World Cup, highlighting not just a prodigious talent, but also a maturity far beyond his years. 

Gvardiol’s is a name that his been of interest to a number of Europe’s elite for the last 18 months, with big-spenders Chelsea keen to bring him to the Bridge in January, but who is the Croatian wonderkid, and why are so many clubs pining for his services?  

Manchester City have agreed a £78million fee with RB Leipzig for defender Josko Gvardiol

Manchester City have agreed a £78million fee with RB Leipzig for defender Josko Gvardiol

The Croatian defender has made a name for himself as one of Europe's top defenders

The Croatian defender has made a name for himself as one of Europe’s top defenders 

Pep Guardiola's side will recruit a highly versatile defender well-suited to the Premier League

Pep Guardiola’s side will recruit a highly versatile defender well-suited to the Premier League

Born in 2002, Gvardiol was tipped for a bright future in Croatia at the age of just seven, when he was signed up by one of Europe’s great talent factories, Dinamo Zagreb, in 2010. 

A decade spent learning his craft following on the same path once trodden by national heroes Luka Modric, Vedran Corluka and potential future club-mate Mateo Kovacic followed, before the inevitable move to one of Europe’s top divisions came in 2020, with RB Leipzig paying around £16.3m and loaning him back for a year to continue his development.

Before setting foot in the Bundesliga, though, Gvardiol was tasked with keeping soon-to-be team-mates Kyle Walker and Phil Foden quiet at left-back in Croatia’s opening game of Euro 2020. 

It was not his finest game, flying in to tackle Kalvin Phillips, only to be left in the then-Leeds star’s wake to tee up Raheem Sterling for the only goal of the game. 

But Gvardiol learned his lesson, instantly becoming a mainstay in the Leipzig team and missing just five games in his debut Bundesliga season, the youngster a key part of the 2021-22 German Cup-winning side as he took past short-comings in stride and used them to improve his game.

At the end of the season, he was even ranked fourth in the CIES Observatory top 100 outfield U21 stars in Europe, behind Bukayo Saka, Mason Greenwood and Patrick Wimmer. A certain Jude Bellingham only came 24th. 

The Croatian’s second season in Germany was somehow even better. 41 games and three goals cemented his place as one of the most impressive young defenders in Europe. Gvardiol piqued Chelsea’s interest with his performances for Croatia in the World Cup in January, but the queue was now far longer. 

Should the deal to join City go through, which it almost certainly will, embittered Manchester United fans will be quick to share a video from the Qatar World Cup that featured the 21-year-old.

Gvardiol signed for Dinamo Zagreb in 2010 and spent a decade honing his skills at the club

Gvardiol signed for Dinamo Zagreb in 2010 and spent a decade honing his skills at the club

At Dinamo Zagreb he followed in the steps of Croatian national hero Luka Modric (pictured)

At Dinamo Zagreb he followed in the steps of Croatian national hero Luka Modric (pictured)

Gvardiol was given a tough time by Phil Foden but went on to start every game at the Euros

Gvardiol was given a tough time by Phil Foden but went on to start every game at the Euros

Gvardiol averaged 0.95 tackles per 90 minutes in all competitions last season according to Sofascore

Gvardiol averaged 0.95 tackles per 90 minutes in all competitions last season according to Sofascore

Put frankly, he was turned inside and out by Lionel Messi in a passage of play that was almost uncomfortable to watch as the Argentine maestro beat the defender several times before providing an assist in the last-four. 

Gvardiol struggled against Messi, but there are two things that the viral clip did not forgive; firstly, Messi is perhaps the greatest human to ever look at a ball, let alone kick one; and secondly, it is almost the exception that proves the rule, with Gvardiol in fact agile, elegant and quick on his feet, as anyone who has seen any other game from his fledgling career will attest to. 

What those Red Devils supporters will not show you is Gvardiol’s performance against Brazil in the quarter-finals. Dominik Livakovic picked up the plaudits with his penalty shoot-out heroics, but it was Gvardiol that spent 120 minutes keeping Richarlison, Vinicius Jnr and Neymar quiet. 

It was a consummate performance from the youngster, who lead by example with a display that spanned generations. There was the brutish, rugged, no-nonsense centre half of yesteryear with grit flowing through his veins, throwing himself in front of shots, sliding in for last-ditch tackles and putting in thumping headers like the legendary defenders of yore. 

But there was also the graceful, athletic and at times balletic modern central defender, calm under pressure, playing the ball around the backline, and even the odd perfectly executed Cruyff turn in the face of one of the most dazzling arrays of attacking talent in the game. You had to remind yourself that this kid was only 20 years old. 

We often say of young starlets that they ‘bely their years’ or ‘play with the experience of someone twice their age’, but with Gvardiol it is the subconscious confidence in everything that he does, as if he has played a dozen cup finals and been capped 100 times for his country. 

His timing in the tackle is now impeccable, his positioning and anticipation almost clinical and his judgement unerring. That he has learned from past failings to enhance his game will be what Pep Guardiola is most excited to work with, keen to flood the sponge-like youngster with yet more knowledge. 

Then there is his versatility. Aside from Ruben Dias, each centre back at Man City is expected to play in a number of different positions. John Stones at right back and more recently in central midfield, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji at left back – even Walker has played in the middle as well as on the right. 

Gvardiol was given a tough time by Argentine maestro Lionel Messi

The Croatian has become a key figure at RB Leipzig

Gvardiol was given a tough time by Argentine maestro Lionel Messi in the World Cup semi-final

But he would put in one of his best performances in the previous game against Brazil

But he would put in one of his best performances in the previous game against Brazil

Gvardiol is a centre back by trade, but transitions seamlessly out to the left, where his pace and balance on the ball help him excel, as comfortable carrying the ball forward as he is throwing himself in its path going the other way. 

A brief look at his defensive stats show an average across 2022-23 of 0.95 tackles per game, 1.07 interceptions and 0.6 blocks per 90, as well as eight clean sheets in all competitions. 

Yet in true Guardiola fashion, he is recruiting a defender who finished top in the entire Bundesliga for successful take-ons (88.9 per cent) and seventh for progressive carrying distance (4.3km).

Gvardiol will provide the all-devouring City with greater solidity at the back, as well as an extra option at left back. 

He looks set to become a focal point around which the next phase of City’s rampant run through modern football will be built around, with a good decade-and-a-half ahead of him at the top, and you’d expect at least half of that to come at the Etihad.

Guardiola has a history of turning centre backs into defensive midfielders and vice versa – look at Philipp Lahm, Javier Mascherano, Stones, Javi Martinez and to an extent Rodri – and Gvardiol could even provide cover for Stones in that role as well, given that he earned his stripes in the Dinamo Zagreb academy in the middle of the park. 

The question has weirdly dissipated in recent windows, but the reason that City don’t really sign left backs is that they have several already capable of deputising there at the club. Gvardiol will only add to those riches. 

At 21, then, Guardiola is set to receive a player with ludicrous versatility, outlandish confidence, and a fantastic track record already. 

It was a consummate display as he kept the likes of Richarlison, Neymar and Vinicius Jnr quiet

It was a consummate display as he kept the likes of Richarlison, Neymar and Vinicius Jnr quiet

During his two season in Germany Gvardiol has won the DFB Pokal on two occasions

During his two season in Germany Gvardiol has won the DFB Pokal on two occasions

Gvardiol scored a stunning header against Man City in the Champions League knockout round

Gvardiol scored a stunning header against Man City in the Champions League knockout round

Even for City, £78m is by no means a small fee – only Harry Maguire at £80m has cost more as a centre back – but the array of talents that Gvardiol possesses more than justifies such an outlay.

He is as strong as anyone in the air – as he proved with a towering header against City in the Champions League – and he is also quick across the pitch, brilliant in the tackle, obdurate one-on-one and metronomic with his passing – he can even play at left back with a natural proficiency – there does not seem to be a weakness in the armoury.  

He is both the brutish yet classy defender that Dias has defined himself as, while possessing all the aesthetic creativity of Stones when in possession. 

Adding a player of his talent who is already so well-rounded to a side that has just won the Treble, is a quite frankly terrifying prospect. 

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Post source: Daily mail

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