da bet esporte： Manchester United could well be eyeing a summer move for RB Leipzig sensation Josko Gvardiol as Erik ten Hag seeks to strengthen his defence this summer.
What’s the word?
da dobrowin： According to Italian outlet Calciomercato.it, the Red Devils – along with Premier League rivals Liverpool – are believed to be in the mix for the Croatian’s signature, albeit with fellow top-flight club Chelsea having seemingly slipped out of the running.
The report does suggest that La Liga giants Real Madrid could be the 21-year-old’s preferred destination, albeit with the centre-back’s reported €100m (£89m) price tag potentially set to prove a sticking point for Los Blancos, duly heightening the chance of a move to England.
This follows previous reports in December which claimed that the Old Trafford outfit were one of the clubs to have submitted an offer for the 19-cap starlet, who still has more than four years left to run on his existing deal in Germany.
Big Lindelof upgrade
The addition of a new centre-back could well potentially hasten an exit for Sweden international Victor Lindelof, with the 28-year-old having seemingly been the subject of transfer interest from across Europe during January, with just 17 months left on his current contract at the Theatre of Dreams.
The former Benfica ace – who arrived in Manchester on a £30m deal back in 2017 – has been resigned to a bit-part role under Ten Hag so far this season, having made just four Premier League starts to date.
That lack of action could well ensure that the £120k-per-week Swede is easily usurped in the defensive pecking order if Gvardiol is to be snapped up come the end of the season, with the latter having been in truly imperious form for both club and country this season.
The highly-coveted “warrior” – as lauded by one journalist – was notably part of the Croatia side which surged to the semi-finals of the World Cup last year, having been described as a “standout” at the tournament by United legend Rio Ferdinand after starting all seven of his country’s games in Qatar
Such dominant showings have also been replicated for Leipzig so far this term, with the former Dinamo Zagreb hotshot averaging 1.1 interceptions and 0.5 tackles per game from his 17 Bundesliga appearances, while Lindelof has averaged just 0.7 for the same two metrics respectively.
It is Gvardiol’s quality in possession which has particularly caught the eye, though, as he ranks in the top 1% for successful take-ons and the top 5% for progressive carries among his European peers. Meanwhile, the current Red Devils defender ranks in the bottom 11% and the top 40% respectively in that regard.
Throw in the fact that the Zagreb native could well be a player for the long term due to his relative youth, and it is easy to see just why he could well be an astute upgrade on United’s peripheral Swede.