The father of RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol, Timohir, had a meeting with Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel over a potential summer transfer, according to Croatian outlet 24Sata.
Earlier this month, Goal claimed that Chelsea consider Gvardiol as one of the potential replacements for Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
The Blues have now reportedly made their move.
According to Croatian publication 24Sata, the 20-year-old’s father flew to London to have a meeting with Tuchel.
Gvardiol himself has reportedly had a chat, likely by phone, with the Chelsea manager.
The report added that Chelsea are ready to offer €50million (roughly £42m) for the centre-back, whose contract at Leipzig runs until 2026.
The Croatia international is a left-footed ball-playing centre-back who mostly plays on the left of Leipzig’s back three, which makes him a potential replacement for Rudiger rather than Christensen.
Interestingly, he was close to playing in the Premier League in 2021, but he decided to turn down an offer from Leeds United to join Leipzig instead.
“True, he had an offer from Leeds but he chose Leipzig for the sporting project,” Gvardiol’s agent, Andy Bara, told Calciomercato in 2020.
“Economically the offers were practically the same.”
Obviously, Gvardiol has four years left in his contract and reports suggest that the deal does not have a release clause which means Chelsea will first have to enter negotiations with Leipzig.
Fortunately for Chelsea, Blues director Marina Granovskaia left a good impression on RB Leipzig CEO Oliver Mintzlaff during transfer negotiations for Timo Werner a couple of years ago.
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