Chelsea will 'push strongly' to sign £69m World Cup star | OneFootball

Chelsea manager Graham Potter will ‘push strongly’ to sign RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol, according to journalist Simon Phillips.

The centre-back is currently competing at the World Cup with national side Croatia, but the Blues could swoop in the January transfer window, having previously expressed interest in bringing him to Stamford Bridge last summer.

Chelsea Transfer News – Josko Gvardiol

According to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, as per CaughtOffside, Chelsea were willing to pay a fee in the region of £69m to sign Gvardiol in the last window, but his current club refused the offer, with the race now wide open for his signature.

However, Romano points out that no deal will be concluded until after the World Cup, which he remains 100% focussed on for the time being.

A report from TuttoJuve details that the Blues are “far ahead” of the other clubs racing to sign the 20-year-old, however the teams tracking him include some of Europe’s elite, with last season’s Champions League finalists Liverpool and Real Madrid named, as well as Manchester City and Barcelona.

With that in mind, the west London club may need to move swiftly to ensure that they get their man, particularly considering he told Croatian outlet 24sata, via Football London, that he has watched Liverpool since he was a “little boy” and would like a move to Anfield.

What has Phillips said about Gvardiol?

According to Phillips, Chelsea are going to give it their all to sign Gvardiol, despite several other interested parties weighing up a move, telling GIVEMESPORT: “They will definitely be one of the clubs pushing hard to sign him but he’s going to have other clubs interested as well.

“There’s nothing for me that says Chelsea are in the lead right now for him, but they’re definitely going to push strongly to try and sign him.“

Could Gvardiol’s World Cup performance make Chelsea more interested?

Former Leipzig sporting director Markus Krosche labelled the left-footed defender “one of the greatest European defensive talents”, as per the Bundesliga website, and he has so far delivered on this bold claim with his performances in Qatar.

In the opening game against Morocco, the enforcer blocked one shot and made three interceptions, as per SofaScore, cutting out opposition attacks at will and displaying his phenomenal defensive abilities, en-route to his side keeping a clean sheet, with the game finishing 0-0.

With 124 touches of the ball, more than any other player on the pitch, as per WhoScored, the youngster displayed his passing range by completing six of seven long balls that he attempted, attaining an 88.7% accuracy throughout the match.

It was more of the same against Canada, with Gvardiol making eight clearances, as per SofaScore, three more than any other Croatia player managed, playing his part in putting his team in a great position to qualify for the knockout stages.

As such, Chelsea will be left even more enamoured by the potential signing in light of seeing his performances at the World Cup, although the Leipzig centre-back is now inevitably going to have more interest from elsewhere.