Josko Gvardiol finds himself on the front page of Saturday’s edition of Mundo Deportivo. The Manchester City player isn’t alone and is joined by Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni.
With Mundo Deportivo being a Catalan newspaper, you may have guessed the message is Barcelona want to sign a central defender and are looking towards the top of the market.
Given moves for either the Manchester City or Inter Milan players would be quite a big deal, this isn’t related to the January market. Barcelona are already looking at potential options ahead of the summer.
The Bluagrana are currently struggling with their central defence options. Ronald Araujo has taken time out for personal reasons, and Andreas Christensen’s contract expires in June.
Manchester City defender wouldn’t be cheap
Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol is being linked with Barcelona
Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol is being linked with Barcelona
Barcelona’s finances aren’t the best and there’s an acceptance something would have to improve. They don’t have the salary room right now to go for players like Gvardiol and Bastoni. That’s before hefty transfer fees are taken into account.
Gvardiol is the defender who fits best. Mundo Deportivo believe Pep Guardiola leaving Manchester City would make a deal easier. However, the manager hasn’t confirmed he’s going and there’s no obvious reason his exit would be followed by Gvardiol’s.
For now, this may be the Catalan media lining up Barcelona targets. As they do that, they’ll try and make the situation look as positive as possible.
Manchester City hold the power here, not Barcelona.