Barcelona want to improve their defence by signing Manchester City‘s Joško Gvardiol this summer.
Earlier this month, the Croatia international returned to the pitch after recovering from a setback suffered in January. This hasn’t put off other clubs from showing interest.
On May 4th, Sport Witness covered claims from Croatia of Real Madrid following him for long. Manchester City offered him a ‘significantly rich’ contract to secure his long-term future.
Last week, we relayed news from Spain that the Premier League side made no progress with his renewal, while his agents offer him to Los Blancos.
Barcelona interest in Manchester City man
Dnevnik Nova TV journalist Stipe Antonijević covers updates on a few Croatian players who made it to Zlatko Dalić’s World Cup squad.
Recent claims reported of Bayern Munich’s interest in Joško Gvardiol. Antonijević backs it up and adds Barcelona and Real Madrid are also keen and explains there are no offers on the table so far.
Over in Spain, El Partidazo de COPE cover the La Liga winners’ desire to sign the 24-year-old and their title say Barcelona are ‘working on signing Gvardiol’.
Within the report, they explain the former RB Leipzig man is an option to strengthen their defence. There’s confidence Manchester City are willing to negotiate this summer because his deal, as per Cope, expires in 2027.
In reality, the defender’s contract runs down in 2028 and not next year. This means the FA Cup winners don’t have to cooperate for potential negotiations this summer.
Barca unlikely to meet Manchester City’s price
Hansi Flick’s side initially identified Alessandro Bastoni as the main defensive target but are refusing to meet Inter Milan’s €70m price.
There’s been repeat claims of their refusal to spend big on a centre-back. If that’s still the case, then Barcelona could find it difficult to sign Joško Gvardiol.
Transfermarkt value him at €70m, and Manchester City are most likely to demand a fee higher than that. This is if they decide to sell, a step the Etihad club may not take this summer.