David Moyes backs 20-year-old Chelsea target to move to Premier League

David Moyes backs Chelsea target Josko Gvardiol to make a move to the Premier League

According to his column on The Times (h/t Metro), West Ham United manager David Moyes has backed Chelsea target and Croatia international Josko Gvardiol to make a move to the Premier League in the coming years.

Moyes has been impressed with the performance levels of the RB Leipzig defender in the World Cup so far. He also praised the Red Bull system through which the player came through and shared that he would be amazed if the 20-year-old does not end up in the Premier League in the next couple of years.

Chelsea wanted to sign Gvardiol in the summer transfer window, but a move failed to materialise. They have been linked with him since then, with reports saying that Leipzig will hold out for a fee of around £77m to offload the defender.

Here’s what Moyes wrote about the Croatian, his performances in Qatar and the future (h/t Metro):

“He was Croatia’s left back at Euro 2020 but is probably going to play most of his career at left centre back, where we’re seeing him here.

“He came through the Red Bull system and they excel at picking out new talents from eastern Europe. I’ll be amazed if he doesn’t come to the Premier League in the next couple of years.”

Gvardiol has been one of the standout players not just in this World Cup, but in the Bundesliga and European leagues in the last year or so. He is probably one of the best young centre-backs in the world.

In terms of the attributes, the former Dinamo Zagreb defender is a great passer of the ball, reads the game well and intercepts attacks, is good aerially, does not shirk away from physical battles and is a threat in the opposition box from set-piece situations.

We hope that Moyes is right about him coming to the Premier League soon. From our viewpoint, we would want him to don the Chelsea jersey in England.

On the face of it, Thiago Silva may not go on forever as he is 38 now. Moreover, the Brazil captain has not yet decided whether he would extend his deal at Stamford Bridge beyond this season.

More Chelsea News:

• Arsenal and Chelsea are set to battle it out to sign Porto winger Pepe
• Chelsea and Arsenal hold key advantage in race to sign Portuguese star Joao Felix
• Inter have decided to sell Dutch international Denzel Dumfries with Chelsea interested

Gvardiol has the qualities to be an excellent long-term replacement for the veteran. We would ideally want him to come in January, but even a summer move would suffice.