Chelsea Transfer News: Croatian midfielder Kovacic has confirmed that Chelsea have asked him for his opinion on his national team-mate Joško Gvardiol.
Highly regarded as one of Croatia’s next stars, Joško Gvardiol is one of the best young centre-backs in the world. Coming from Dinamo Zagreb’s academy, he made his senior team debut with his boyhood club.
At a very young age, Gvardiol became a starter in the Dinamo Zagreb setup and featured in more than fifty matches for the Croatian giants.
After his brilliant performance with Zagreb, he signed for Bundesliga teams RB Leipzig ahead of the 2021-22 season. Gvardiol soon established himself as a starter and has already played more than fifty games. The young defender has appeared in every Leipzig game this season, except for their season opener.
Chelsea Transfer News: Kovacic praises Gvardiol
28-year-old Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic has confirmed that the club asked him about fellow Croatian Joško Gvardiol.
Confirming it, the Chelsea midfielder said: “Yes, I was asked about Josko and I only had the best opinion of him.”
He also added that “Josko is a top player and the people at Chelsea know it…”.
According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, the Blues were in advanced talks with RB Leipzig to sign Josko Gvardiol.
They even presented an official offer of 90 million euros for the Croatian defender and wanted him to join in June 2023.
Unfortunately for Chelsea, however, the deal never materialized and the Croatian signed a contract extension with Leipzig that runs until 2027.
With Thiago Silva’s future uncertain after the World Cup, it is understood that the Blues continue to pursue the defender and may try to lure him back in the winter transfer window.
Whats Next
The Blues have had a topsy-turvy start to the English Premier League campaign. They recorded a narrow victory in their previous match against West Ham and are currently in sixth place with ten points from six games.
The Blues have not kept a single clean sheet in their last five games. They will next face Dinamo Zagreb in their first game of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League campaign.
Meanwhile, Leipzig recently suffered a very poor loss against Europa League champions Eintracht Frankfurt. They are currently 10th in the Bundesliga with five points from five games. Leipzig will face Sakhtar Dontesk in their next match.
