Man City agree stunning £77.5m fee for in-demand defender

Manchester City have agreed a €90m (£77.5m) fee for RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol, ManchesterWorld understands.

The 21-year-old was identified as the club’s primary transfer target ahead of the summer window, along with international team-mate Mateo Kovacic, and after weeks of talks, City and Leipzig came to an agreement on Wednesday.

The player, who was not involved in Leipzig’s pre-season friendly against Sint-Truidense, will now travel to Manchester and is expected to complete his medical by the end of the week. It will then be a case of City completing all the necessary paperwork, with Gvardiol’s transfer expected to be wrapped up in full early next week.

The ex-Dinamo Zagreb protege is unlikely to be involved in Sunday's Community Shield clash against Arsenal, but could be available for the Premier League opener next Friday when the Blues travel to Burnley.

City feel they have signed one of the market’s most talented young defenders, a player who could play an integral role at the Etihad for the next decade. The price for Gvardiol is also just shy of Harry Maguire’s transfer to Manchester United from Leicester City in 2019, for a fee of £80m, the highest ever for a defender.

It is also seen as relatively cheap given the inflation of transfer fees in recent years, with the European champions pleased to pay a tad more than the £75m figure Liverpool spent on Virgil van Dijk in January 2018, a price that would be significantly higher in today’s market.

The deal between Leipzig and City will see the latter pay a straight sum and there will be no future add-ons, as has been reported elsewhere

Gvardiol spent two years at the Bundesliga side and played 87 times in that period. The centre-back also won the DFB-Pokal on two occasions with the club.

The Croat has faced City four times in his fledgling career, yet has conceded 16 times across those Champions League encounters. Gvardiol also netted against Pep Guardiola's side last season, in the 1-1 draw at the Red Bull Arena in February.

The youngster has already earned 21 international caps and has represented Croatia at two major tournaments, with Gvardiol playing every minute of his country's run to the 2022 World Cup semi-finals.