Chelsea have been told that transfer target Josko Gvardiol will not be leaving RB Leipzig in January "under any circumstances". The Blues are still hoping to sign the defender but their long-term plans have also been hindered after Leipzig director Max Eberl made a major prediction regarding the Croatians future beyond 2023.
Despite Todd Boehly overseeing a huge defensive overhaul in the summer with Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella all arriving at the club for a combined total of £168million, the Blues made a late push to sign Gvardiol in the summer of 2022.
Left-footed defender Benoit Badiashile has since been signed for £33.7million by Chelsea from AS Monaco, putting to bed claims he was a short-term placeholder before the Blues push to sign Gvardiol by penning a seven-and-a-half-year contract.
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Gvardiol enjoyed a stellar World Cup with Croatia, guiding his national team to a third-place finish, which included scoring a great header against Morocco in the third-place play-off. Understandably, Chelsea are not the only club interested in the 20-year-old, with Spanish giants Real Madrid also in the race.
According to Italian journalist Alfredo Pedulla, Madrid have recently held two meetings with the German outfit and are ready to pay €120million (£106million) including bonuses for Gvardiol's signature. Although RB Leipzig do not wish to sell the defender, as football.london understands, and concrete interest from Madrid is prominent, Boehly has been reassured that Gvardiol will end up in west London.
Speaking to Calcio Mercato, intermediary Vincenzo Cavaliere said: "In my opinion, yes [Gvardiol is worth €100million (£88.2million). A player’s valuation is directly proportional to how much a club is willing to pay for him, and with the prices at which certain players get away, I’d say yes. Gvardiol is 20 years old, he’s a regular in a big club like Leipzig and in the Croatian national team, third in the world. I think he eventually goes to Chelsea."
However, that outcome does not appear to be in the plans of RB Leipzig sporting director Max Eberl, who has delivered a significant update on Gvardiol regarding both his short-term and long-term future.
"I'm in contact with his agency," Eberl told reporters. "We are in very open talks. Our position is clear: He's not leaving this winter under any circumstances, and it's also not our intention to let him go in the summer of 2024.
"Beyond that, it's hard to say. But we are definitely planning with him for the next year and a half."
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