Manchester City are closing in on the club-record signing of RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol and the Croatian's surprise shirt collection has emerged.
City had earmarked Gvardiol as a priority signing this summer and after back-and-forth negotiations, have agreed to pay £77.6 million for the 21-year-old.
Taking exchange rates and inflation into account, the transfer will not eclipse the £80 million Manchester United paid Leicester City for Harry Maguire in 2019.Gvardiol is now set to undergo a medical and join compatriot Mateo Kovacic in signing for the treble-winners.
He has the nickname 'Pep’ as a nod to how similar his name sounds to his soon-to-be manager, but another bizarre fact about the former Dinamo Zagreb has come to light.
Gvardiol has played against the likes of Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Lionel Messi but he has a different trio of shirts on his wall.One is the Croatia national team shirt and another belongs to his international teammate Filip Krovinovic from when he was at Benfica.
The final one, however, is a puzzling one. Gvardiol has the shirt of former Chelsea, Southampton and Leicester City left-back Ryan Bertrand despite never actually swapping jerseys with him.
The story goes that Bertrand's agency were keen on linking up with Gvardiol in his younger days but nothing ever materialised.
As a sort of apology, Gvardiol received a signed Bertrand jersey."His agent wanted to sign me, but in the end none of that happened, so he sent me a signed jersey," Gvardiol explained, as per 90 Min.
Bertrand has made 262 appearances in the Premier League but now finds himself without a club having been released by relegated Leicester City.
Gvardiol might just get his hands on a new set of shirts in the Premier League and could well have his eyes on Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk, who he has revealed his admiration for.
As a kid, I admired Lionel Messi, but now I am increasingly watching the players in my position. And today is the best Virgil Van Dijk," he told 24sata.
Gvardiol, who can play in multiple positions, is expected to sign a long-term deal at City.
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