Josko Gvardiol: Mateo Kovacic says Croatia team-mate is ‘ready’ to move to Manchester City from RB Leipzig

Mateo Kovacic thinks his Croatia team-mate Josko Gvardiol has the ability to step up and join him at Manchester City.

City are believed to be in negotiations with Gvardiol’s club, RB Leipzig, over a move to the Premier League champions.

The German side value the defender at around £86 million.

Manchester United and Liverpool have also been linked to Gvardiol, 21, who came through the Dinamo Zagreb youth setup before joining Leipzig in 2020.

Speaking about Gvardiol’s ability to play in England’s top-flight, Kovacic said: “Josko has great potential.

“He can come here and learn and be the best version of himself. I’d obviously like it, I’m a good friend with him and he’s Croatian. It would be nice to have a Croatian by my side here,” Kovacic said.

Gvardiol is well known to City, having scored an equaliser against them in last season’s Champions League last 16 first leg in Leipzig. City went on to win that tie 8-1 on aggregate on their way to lifting the trophy.

The left-sided defender has also made a big impact at international level.

He became the youngest player to represent Croatia at a major tournament when he featured throughout their Euro 2020 campaign, before being named man of the match in their third place play-off victory over Morocco at the 2022 World Cup.

Speaking about Gvardiol’s experience, Kovacic said: “He’s already played a lot of big games. He is ready for this step.”

Kovacic joined Pep Guardiola’s treble winners early in the summer transfer window from Chelsea and said: “I think it’s a good time [to join City]. They are on a great run, a very confident team and a team you can learn from.

“They have possibly the best manager in history. So I came here to join a great group and to try to learn.”

Speaking about what Gvardiol can bring to City, Kovacic said: “He’s still young but he’s mature. He doesn’t need much advice. He had a great World Cup and a great season with Leipzig.”

Manchester City take on Arsenal in the Community Shield on August 6, before starting their Premier League title defence away at Burnley on August 11.