This is said by journalist Fabrizio Romano, who provided a few intriguing updates on the center-back. The first is that, despite Liverpool’s ‘passion’ for Gvardiol, Romano told GiveMeSport last night that they couldn’t afford to sign him.
The journalist stated, “For Gvardiol, they [Liverpool] love him.” “They started looking into the terms of the contract in January. Realistically, this is too pricey. I don’t think Liverpool will spend €100 million (about £86 million) on a center-back after they dropped out of the competition for Jude Bellingham because he was too pricey.
Reds have bad news, then. It was about to get worse, though. Romano updated his followers on Twitter this morning by saying that City are moving through with a plan to acquire Gvardiol.
As for the Josko Gvardiol deal, “understand Manchester City are advancing on the player side,” he added. “Like [Mateo] Kovacic, negotiations on personal terms are going well. Leipzig is willing to keep Gvardiol for another season unless they can get a significant price for him.
City decides to pursue Gvardiol
Realistically, neither in summer nor in January Liverpool would have been able to sign Gvardiol. They obviously value the center back a lot, but he will simply be too expensive.
The Reds’ only remaining hope now that City is prepared to proceed is that they won’t be able to afford Leipzig’s high asking price.
The money shouldn’t be an issue for Pep Guardiola’s treble winners because they are one of the wealthiest clubs in all of football. However, City has occasionally abandoned transactions if they believe they are being taken advantage of.
If Gvardiol’s present club refuses to sell for the hefty sum they’re seeking, City might decide it’s no longer worthwhile.
The only scenario where Liverpool still have a chance to land the Croatian international presently appears to be that one. If he spends a another season with Leipzig, the Reds might be able to sign him using funds from the next season.
At that point, Jurgen Klopp will have an urgent need to bolster his defense. It would be logical to allocate the entire amount to Gvardiol.
But for the time being, it makes no sense to spend £86 million on a center-back, no matter how excellent he is, given how much of a midfield rebuild needs to be addressed. In a year, we’ll be crossing our fingers that Gvardiol is still available. However, it doesn’t seem promising.