Manchester United have suffered a severe blow in the possible transfer of the coveted central defender Josko Gvardiol.
Gvardiol has recently become one of the best defenders in the world and, at 20, is on the wish list of every major European club.
The clubs that have shown the most interest in the RB Leipzig defender are Chelsea and Real Madrid.
Gvardiol impressed during the World Cup with his exploits for Croatia, earning him widespread praise.
Croatia reached the semifinal of the competition where they were eliminated by Argentina. Argentina went on to lift the trophy.
Gvardiol spoke about his future and strongly hinted that he could be on the move this summer. However, he refused to divulge exactly where he will be moving to.
The 20-year-old said of his future: “I’m not in a hurry. I’m at Leipzig and we still have six months to finish the season and win something. And then we will look further into the future.”
Joško Gvardiol tells @RTLDanas that his dream club growing up was Liverpool and he’s in no rush to leave Leipzig this winter. “I’m not in a hurry. I’m at Leipzig and we still have six months to finish the season and win something. And then we’ll look to the future… pic.twitter.com/8LJCIZFQ05
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) January 7, 2023
Gvardiol went on to describe Liverpool as his dream club.
He commented: “The club of my dreams? That would definitely be Liverpool. Since I was little, I watched a lot of his games with my dad.”
“We cover each season in detail. It is a club that has stayed in my heart”.
Josko Gvardiol: “The club of my dreams? That would definitely be Liverpool. Since I was little I used to watch a lot of their games with my dad,” he tells @RTLDanas. ???????????? #LFC
“We cover each season in detail. It is a club that has stayed in my heart”. pic.twitter.com/TT337n0821
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 7, 2023
Gvardiol’s admission undoubtedly makes United’s chances of acquiring him significantly more difficult.
That United need another centre-back is a known fact. Erik ten Hag has already shown that he has little faith in his options at the club beyond Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martínez.
Varane’s propensity for injury also means the Red Devils could use an alternative at the job.