Tottenham Hotspur dealt a blow in their pursuit of RB Leipzig centre-back Josko Gvardiol
Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol, as Manchester United have apparently joined the race for the highly-rated centre-back.
According to the Sun, the Red Devils have thrown their name in the hat for acquiring the services of the Croatian starlet, which is not good news to anyone at Hotspur Way.
Spurs’ director of football Fabio Paratici had identified Gvardiol as one of the club’s key targets this summer, and they are also keeping tabs on Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni.
The Lilywhites already had arch-rivals Chelsea to fend off, with the Blues also highly interested in the 20-year-old. Adding United to the mix is bound to complicate things more.
Gvardiol made 29 Bundesliga appearances last season, scoring twice and providing two assists, helping Leipzig secure fourth place and Champions League qualification
What makes the Croatian starlet so lucrative to all three sides vying for his signature is the fact that he is left-footed, and thus he can play as a left-sided centre-back – a position of significance to Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel’s back-three set-up.
Leipzig will be expecting a fee in the region of £42million to tempt them into selling. That is certainly a price tag that raises eyebrows but given the player’s age profile, it can be justified to some extent.
Gvardiol is viewed as one of the most highly-rated youngsters currently, so the quoted price tag above could seem like a bargain in the near future. Spurs need to act quickly if they want their man.
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They must take calculated risks such as this if they really want to succeed under Conte. If the Italian manager wants a player, the board would be wise to fetch them for him. After all, his amazing track record of silverware warrants such trust.
