Manchester City has signed RB Leipzig’s center-back Josko Gvardiol, the club announced on Saturday. This is the club’s largest move of the summer transfer window.
Sources told ESPN earlier this week that the clubs had agreed to a flat fee of €90 million ($98 million) for the Croatian international.
Leipzig’s initial valuation of Gvardiol at €100 million halted negotiations earlier this summer.
City’s negotiated fee is less than the £80 million ($102 million) Manchester United paid Leicester City for Harry Maguire in 2019.
After spending a season on loan at Dinamo Zagreb, the 21-year-old joined Leipzig in 2020 for approximately €19 million and established himself as a vital member of a team that won consecutive DFB-Pokals.
He has made 21 appearances for Croatia and was a member of the third-place team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Gvardiol is City’s second summer acquisition after Mateo Kovacic, another Croatian international, was acquired from Chelsea for an initial £25 million fee.
Ilkay Gündogan and Riyad Mahrez have departed since Pep Guardiola’s side won the treble last season, and there could be more departures in the near future, with interest in Bernardo Silva, Kyle Walker, Kalvin Phillips, and Aymeric Laporte.
Gvardiol will vie with Rben Dias, John Stones, Manuel Akanji, and Nathan Aké for a starting position in the middle of the City’s defense.
