Man City ‘line up record £110m bid for Josko Gvardiol as they look to beat Chelsea to Croatia World Cup star transfer’

MANCHESTER CITY are lining up a club-record £110m bid for Croatia World Cup ace Josko Gvardiol.

The RB Leipzig defender was one of the emerging stars in Qatar and has some of Europe’s top clubs on his radar.

EPAJosko Gvardiol was one of the stars of the World Cup for Croatia[/caption]

Chelsea, who saw an £80m bid rejected in the summer, appeared to be in the driving seat after making him their top centre-back target.

Tottenham, who also desperately need to bolster their defensive options, are also interested, as are Manchester United.

But journalist Alfredo Pedalled claims the reigning Premier League champions are willing to “blow them out of the water” with a WORLD-RECORD bid for a defender.

Harry Maguire, who cost Manchester United £85m in 2020, is currently the most expensive defender in history.

But City are preparing a £110m offer for Gvardiol, whose stock has grown massively following his exploits at the World Cup.

The 20-year-old played every minute of Croatia’s run to the semi-finals and produced some superb performances, notably against Belgium and Brazil.

Pep Guardiola’s men are in “close contact” with Leipzig and while they face stiff competition from Real Madrid, they’re set to “double” the Spanish side’s salary offer.

Gvardiol was recently quizzed on the speculation surrounding his future and told The Athletic: “My agent is taking care of this and we will see.

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“Right now, I’m happy in Leipzig. I don’t know, we will see – you never know.

“You know the stories and these things, but all I can say is that I’m happy in Leipzig and right now I’m going to stay there and perform for them.”