Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur want to bring Josko Gvardiol to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but it seems that the RB Leipzig defender wants to make a switch to Graham Potter’s Chelsea instead and play with his Croatia international midfielder Mateo Kovacic, as quoted in The Athletic.
Gvardiol, linked with Tottenham and Chelsea, is one of the best young defenders in Europe and is playing well for Croatia at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Earlier this week, TMW reported that Tottenham want to sign the 20-year-old defender in the summer of 2023.
The report in the Italian news outlet claimed that Spurs wing-back Ivan Perisic is trying to convince his Croatia international teammate to move to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next summer.
According to The Telegraph, the defender has a release clause of £43.6 million in his contract.
Well-known and well-respected journalist Simon Phillips told Give Me Sport in October 2022 that Chelsea want to sign Gvardiol next summer, and that the defender himself is “open to the move”.
And now the RB Leipzig defender has suggested that he is indeed willing to join Chelsea in the future, saying that he speaks to Kovacic.
Former Real Madrid star Kovacic is at Chelsea now and is also part of the Croatia team at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Josko Gvardiol on his future amid Tottenham and Chelsea interest
Gvardiol told The Athletic: “About me and Chelsea? I don’t know. You know what happened in the last few months. To be honest, I have no idea.
“My agent is taking care of this and we will see. 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.”
The defender added: “It’s a big club of course and, who knows, maybe one day I will be there. It’s really nice to see things like this, especially because there is Kovacic, so you never know. I talk with him.
“Even to be here on this, the biggest event, it’s a big thing for me at 20 years old so I’m happy. I have to think about it.”
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