CHELSEA and Manchester City will both compete to sign Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig next summer, according to reports.
Gvardiol, 20, was heavily linked with a move away from the Red Bull Arena throughout the transfer window.
Tottenham, Man City and Chelsea were all interested in signing him, but RB Leipzig were not willing to sell.
Instead, the defender penned a new five-year deal with the club on deadline day, committing his future until June 2027.
He did so after the Red Bulls rejected a huge bid of at least £77million from Chelsea.
According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, RB Leipzig rebuffed the offer because they are convinced that other clubs will join the transfer race next summer, including Man City.
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Pep Guardiola expressed an interest in signing Gvardiol as a replacement for Oleksandr Zinchenko – who joined Arsenal in a £32m transfer – but could not push through a move before deadline day.
It’s claimed that RB Leipzig chiefs are holding out for a bidding war in the hope that they will earn over the £77m asking price they initially set.
Chelsea spent over £164m on a new-look defensive set-up during the summer transfer window.
And if they were to sign Gvardiol within the next year, it could take the total amount spent on defenders up to around £250m.
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The Blues also signed Raheem Sterling, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Denis Zakaria and Carney Chukwuemeka before deadline day.
Meanwhile, Man City racked up a much lower net spend of £125m by signing Erling Haaland, Stefan Ortega, Kalvin Phillips, Sergio Gomez and Manuel Akanji.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
