Josko Gvardiol hints at following Christopher Nkunku to Chelsea
Speaking to The Times (Subscription Required), RB Leipzig and Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol revealed his ambitions about playing in the Premier League and hinted at following Christopher Nkunku to Chelsea.
Gvardiol himself confirmed that Chelsea had a massive interest in him during last summer’s transfer window, but Leipzig did not want to sell him at the time. Nkunku, his teammate at the moment, is set to join the Blues at the end of this season.
The 21-year-old was one of the best defenders in the 2022 World Cup, which would have elevated his value in the football market. Back in December, the Guardian reported that if Chelsea are to make a move for him in January or next summer, the price has gone beyond €90m.
Revealing his willingness to play in the Premier League and following Nkunku, here’s Gvardiol (h/t The Times):
“I knew that I needed to take a few steps more before I get [to the Premier League] one day. At the end Leipzig is a really good club and I feel good here. It’s important I play almost every game. I am very grateful to Dani Olmo because he was here and I spoke with him a lot of times before I decided to sign.
“I have never seen before a player like Christoph [Nkunku], he is unbelievable. Every time I talk with someone about him I always say wherever he goes I want to go with him.”
Whether the Croatian international wanted to say the Nkunku comment to send a message to the Chelsea hierarchy, remains to be seen.
One thing to remember is that the Blues signed Benoit Badiashile, a player of similar profile and age, in the January window as they believed that the Gvardiol deal is out of their price range.
With Badiashile playing well and Thiago Silva extending his stay until 2024, is it going to make sense for Chelsea to break the bank for Gvardiol? Probably not.
Not just Badiashile and Silva, the Blues have Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly and Trevoh Chalobah as options in central defence. Hence, spending the big money on the Croat won’t make much sense. Having said that, some of the decisions made by the club in the last two transfer windows haven’t made much sense anyway.
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We know Gvardiol is a top defender who is going to have an excellent career. It just doesn’t look like he will be signed by Chelsea in the summer.