Peter Schmeichel says Chelsea target Josko Gvardiol is justifying the hype around his name right now.
RB Leipzig’s Gvardiol, who’s a Croatia international, is currently enjoying a fantastic World Cup tournament.
The 20-year-old defender has played every minute of Croatia’s four games so far, with a quarter-final against favourites Brazil up next.
He’s a real powerhouse centre-half that defends aggressively with pace and power, plus is a modern day defender with how he dribbles and passes out from the back.
Gvardiol justifying the hype
Football icon Peter Schmeichel highlighted Gvardiol during his performance yesterday in Croatia’s win against Japan:
“You can see why people are raving about Gvardiol as the defender and why every big club in the world is looking at him,” Schmeichel told BBC Radio 5 Live (3:29pm, 5 December).
The RB Leipzig man is being showered with praise from all directions, rightly so.
Rio Ferdinand has claimed Gvardiol has been his favourite defender to watch at the World Cup in Qatar. Elsewhere, Jermaine Jenas said he’s “got it all” as a player.
Chelsea links
90min recently claimed that Chelsea believe they are close to agreeing a deal to sign Gvardiol from Leipzig. The Blues are optimistic about getting the youngster, who will have a £45million release clause that becomes active at the end of the season.
The Blues backline was, for the most part, a key in Thomas Tuchel’s success when he was the Chelsea boss. However, that same stability in defence appears to have disappeared this year.
A player like Gvardiol is someone that could definitely get the backline back to its best with his presence and skill.
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