Why Gvardiol could be the perfect Guardiola defender at Manchester City
Multiple reports this week suggested that Manchester City are looking to acquire the services of RB Leipzig’s highly-rated centre-back Josko Gvardiol.
It’s said personal terms have already been agreed between both parties. However, Gvardiol has a release clause in excess of €110million euros which cannot be triggered until next summer.
With Gvardiol contracted until 2027, Leipzig boast a strong position in the negotiations and it’s going to cost City a pretty penny if they want to land the defender this summer.
Yet, they do have the financial power to meet the German side’s valuation should they deem him worthy - and, frankly, it’s easy to see why they might.
The Croatian only arrived in Germany two years ago after progressing and excelling through the academy right up to the first team at Dinamo Zagreb.
He’s already a fully-fledged international with 21 senior caps under his belt, which is a sizeable number for a player born as recently as 2002.
Gvardiol's debut season in one of Europe’s top five leagues quickly illustrated his high ceiling. The then-teenager made 46 appearances across all competitions for Leipzig in that 2021/22 campaign, dominating in defence while also chipping in with two goals and helping his side lift the DFB Cup.
He followed that up with 41 appearances last season, again excelling and lifting his second domestic trophy as Leipzig retained their DFB-Pokal.
In between, Gvardioal started every game during his country's run to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup in November, memorably scoring the opening goal in Croatia’s 2-1 win over Morocco.
In terms of profile, Gvardioal stands at 6'1" - that’s a decent, if unremarkable size for a central defender, yet, his all-round defensive capabilities make him a tough opponent to bypass both in the air and on the floor.
According to Opta via FBref, he lost just ten of his 43 aerial duels in the league last season and failed to win just six of his 23 tackles on the ground.
While it’s crucial that any defender within Pep Guardiola’s system can ultimately defend, the tactics deployed by the Catalan coach mean they must be able to provide so much more - especially on the ball.
It’s with that considered that City’s interest in Gvardioal becomes much easier to understand.
"Gvardiol is the best central defender in the world,” said Croatia’s head coach Zlatko Dalic when hailing his technical ability.
“He's so mature. The way he plays, with the grace he controls the ball - it's amazing."
Across last season in Europe's big five leagues, only four defenders touched the ball more times per 90 than Gvardiol (100.5).
His pass success rate was the seventh-best for any player in the Bundesliga (89.1 per cent), while his progressive pass average (4.81 per 90) ranked among the top 82 percentile again for all defenders across Europe’s top five leagues.
Put simply, Gvardiol can safely pass the ball short or fizz it forward into more profitable areas with equal ease.
He’s also more than comfortable stepping out of the defence and driving through opponents who dare to give him the space to do so.
With John Stones, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte to choose from, Guardiola already has a wealth of talented defenders at his disposal. However, the latter - one of just two left-footers in that group - looks likely to depart.
Gvardiol himself is left-footed, making him an ideal option to fill the void that’d be left if City were to sell the Spain international. This left-footedness also aids Gvardiol’s ability to play seamlessly on the left in either a back three or back four system.
He’s done both at Leipzig and while City, on paper, line up with a four-man defence, the hybrid role of John Stones - as we've covered here - means the treble winner's backline quite often better resembles a defensive trio rather than a quartet.
It’s always hard to gauge what kind of tactical evolution Guardiola is planning next. However, no matter which direction he takes his team next, there’d certainly be a place in his defence for Gvardiol to fit should City finalise a move.
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