Thierry Henry has lauded Tottenham and Chelsea transfer target Josko Gvardiol who he thinks is a ‘rare breed’ because he is a left-footed centre-back, as he told CBS Sports on Paramount+ (25/10/22 at 7:50 pm).
The RB Leipzig defender was dubbed as ‘strong’ and a player who has an ‘eye for a pass’ by Henry, as he helped RB Leipzig beat Real Madrid 3-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
The 20-year-old came through the ranks of Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb and he is now working wonders in the Bundesliga, as several top teams are now looking at his talents.
Give Me Sport journalist Simon Phillips has previously claimed that the £44 million star is ‘open’ to a Chelsea transfer, even though he is on Tottenham’s radar – he signed a new contract in September until 2027.
That puts the financial power into the hands of Leipzig, who know they don’t even have to come to the negotiating table for the player in the summer.
Despite that, Arsenal legend Theirry Henry touched upon ‘Chelsea wanting him’ amongst other big names, such as Spurs, that were put forward to him, as he shared what he likes about the towering centre-back.
“It’s a rare breed to have a centre-back with a left foot,” said Henry. “Everybody looks for that. If you want to play, then you get a better outlet if the guy is left-footed to direct both ways.
“What I like is, and you have to give credit to Croatia and Dinamo Zagreb. They produce players at will. He’s strong. An eye for a pass. Chelsea wants him and I can name a lot of teams.
“He’s good at defending and he’s good in the air on set-pieces, but more importantly, if you are a left-footed centre-back, then suddenly people come for you.”
GVARDIOL MORE NEEDED AT SPURS
Chelsea went big, very big in fact, during the summer transfer market, including splashing big bucks on Wesley Fofana from Leicester City and Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli.
The duo were brought in when Thomas Tuchel was in charge, so it will be interesting to see if Graham Potter will want his own personnel when the transfer window re-opens, especially given that he plays three at the back and likes to rotate a lot.
But there is no doubt that a player like Gvardiol is more needed at Spurs because Antonio Conte is crying out for his starting XI to be elevated.
Cristian Romero was injured over the weekend as they were beaten by Newcastle United, and whilst he plays on the right side, it does seem as though Conte would want another centre-back of his ilk to try and take his team to the next level.
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