Manchester City have held conversations with RB Leipzig about signing Josko Gvardiol, according to Fabrizio Romano.

THE LOWDOWN: MAN CITY’S GVARDIOL INTEREST

Foot Mercato claimed that the bidding had only just begun for the Croatian when the Premier League champions tabled an offer exceeding €100m (£85m) for him earlier this month, and the Sky Blues’ interest does not seem to have lessened.

The Daily Mirror recently reported (via Sky Sports) that Pep Guardiola is willing to go as high as £110m to secure the centre-back’s signature , and now it appears as though the move is advancing to the next stage…

Romano has said that both Manchester City and Real Madrid have had “conversations” about signing the defender, but added that a move might not be in the offing until the summer.

He told GIVEMESPORT in relation to Gvardiol: “Manchester City and Real Madrid, they also had some conversations. My feeling is that Man City and Real Madrid are interested for next summer, so to prepare something for next summer.”

THE VERDICT: WORTH IT?

One of the most important aspects of the Croatian’s well-rounded game is his ability to pick out a pass, with an average of 86.16 per game per over the past year ranking him in the 99th percentile compared to his positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues.

As such, the 20-year-old would be able to seamlessly transition into Guardiola’s style of play, while he also has the defensive qualities to go along with his passing range, averaging 1.82 interceptions per game in the same period, placing him in the 83rd percentile among top-level centre-backs.

The youngster is certainly making a name for himself as a result of his recent displays, with journalist Ryan Taylor lauding him as ‘sublime‘.

However, the Sky Blues already have an array of options in central defence, with Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, John Stones and Aymeric Laporte all at Guardiola’s disposal, so it is questionable whether spending £110m on a new addition would be a prudent purchase.

Gvardiol is much younger than all the current options and could be the anchor of the City defence for more than a decade to come, but it is a transfer that the club must get right, given the amount of money which would be involved.

Jesse Marsch makes Kalvin Phillips claim after Pep Guardiola calls out “overweight” star

Kalvin Phillips left Leeds to join Manchester City in the summer but injuries have hindered him, with Pep Guardiola complaining about his fitness after the World Cup.

Jesse Marsch claims Kalvin Phillips dearly misses his Leeds home.

Phillips made the agonising decision for him and his family to quit his beloved Leeds in the summer to join Manchester City in a £45million switch. The England midfielder returned to Elland Road for the Whites’ defeat by Fulham in October and he is still idolised by Leeds fans.

He has struggled at City, making just four appearances, mainly because of injury, and Pep Guardiola called him out, claiming he returned from the World Cup overweight. Phillips, 27, hopes to return with City on Wednesday night and Marsch says he left a huge hole at Leeds because he was the heart of the team.

“We still miss Kalvin,” said the Leeds boss. “He came for one of our matches, Fulham, and you could see he felt the pain of losing that match with us after the match.

“He missed being here. Of course, he misses being here, he misses the guys, he’s got a lot of great friends here, this club is in his heart. Kalvin was such a good player, but for me he was a really likeable, heart-warming person to have around the team.

“He got along with everybody here, with the older players, as well was the younger players, with me as well as the academy coaches.

Kalvin Phillips left Leeds to join Manchester City in the summer ( Image: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)

“If you were to ask me what was the hardest part of replacing Kalvin, it was a little bit of that – making sure that we still had the feeling of what Leeds United is, what it means to be from Leeds, what the history of the club means.”

Marsch backed Phillips to handle the huge emotion of facing his boyhood club if he plays on Wednesday. “It felt like he belonged here, that this was his home,” he added on the midfielder.

“I’m sure that even when he made the decision to leave that was a big part of the difficulty. Coming back, I think he will revisit those emotions and I think it will bring the best out of him. That’s the kind of person he is.”

SOURCE: footballtransfertavern.com – mirror.co.uk