RB Leipzig’s 20-year-old centre-back Josko Gvardiol is reportedly high on Tottenham Hotspur’s wishlist for the upcoming summer transfer window.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Josko Gvardiol has overtaken Villarreal’s Pau Torres and Lille’s Sven Botman as Tottenham Hotspur’s priority summer target. Spurs have been on the lookout for a centre-back signing since January but have failed to complete any.
Gvardiol is a Dinamo Zagreb youth product, joining the Croatian giants’ academy in 2010. He was promoted to the senior side in 2019, before moving to the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig in 2021 in a deal worth €18.8 million.
The 20-year-old, who can double up as a left-back, has featured regularly for the Bundesliga side this season, making 21 league starts. In total, he has made 33 appearances for them across all competitions, scoring twice and assisting three goals. He was a permanent fixture in Croatia’s starting lineup at the UEFA Euro 2020 last year as well, starting all four matches for the 2018 World Cup runners-up.
The change of manager mid-season also hasn’t affected his spot in the Leipzig defence. He will still have another four years left on his contract with the German side after the current season.
Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has publicly expressed displeasure over the players at his disposal, with the London-based club in desperate need of a major rebuild. They have been targeting a centre-back signing since January as they are quite thin in the department.
The Lilywhites were linked with a move for Inter defender Stefan de Vrij in January, with Conte believed to be fond of the Dutch defender. They are set to revisit their interest in the Dutchman in the summer.
Spurs were also linked with Sevilla’s 28-year-old Brazilian centre-back Diego Carlos in January, but nothing concrete came out of the reports. Tottenham are set to continue their pursuit of a central defender this summer, with Pau Torres and Sven Botman believed to be on their list of targets, although it is Gvardiol who is reportedly at the top of their wishlist.
Gvardiol, though still a relatively unknown entity, has been influential for Leipzig this season, and could be a solid signing for Spurs. Transfermarkt currently values the 20-year-old at €25 million, which could convince Daniel Levy to sign the Croatia international if Leipzig sanction the sale. Whether the Premier League side move in for him in the upcoming window remains to be seen.