Manchester City CONFIDENT of signing €75 million Bundesliga star following talks with representatives | OneFootball

Officials within the Etihad Stadium are reportedly ‘confident’ of securing a deal for RB Leipzig and Croatia star Josko Gvardiol, according to a new report.

With the summer transfer window right around the corner, City officials appear to be intensifying their activity in the market, as they look to close deals as soon as possible ahead of the new season.

Manchester City hope to have their new-look strengthened squad in place ahead of the pre-season tour in Asia, allowing for any fresh faces to embed themselves with Pep Guardiola’s side against the likes of Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid in the far-east.

This week, their search took them in the direction of Chelsea’s Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic, as all parties agree to communicate over a possible deal. Now, their second pursuit takes them towards a compatriot of the Stamford Bridge man.

That is according to the information of The Secret Scout, who states that Manchester City have now made Croatia international star Joško Gvardiol one of the ‘key players’ to sign at centre-back during the upcoming summer transfer window.

The report states that the recently crowned Premier League champions have now spoken with the 21 year-old’s representatives over the possibility of a summer deal, with the player described as being ‘keen’ to make the switch to the Etihad Stadium.

From the perspective of both Manchester City and the representatives of the player, The Secret Scout reports that the two parties are ‘confident’ that a deal will be done during the summer market.

While Gvardiol is valued at around €75 million by popular transfer market database and football statistics hub Transfermarkt, the player’s performances across all competitions, and specifically the recent FIFA World Cup in Qatar, means that he could fetch a much greater fee.

One line of understanding from Germany in recent weeks is that the Leipzig club would stand their ground on the future of their star central defender, refusing to accept any deal that fell below a €100 million valuation.

Manchester City would almost certainly have to sell this summer before sanctioning any fee close to that mark, although the uncertain future of current defender Aymeric Laporte may present that avenue.