Juventus will reportedly scout Croatia superstar Josko Gvardiol at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, with Tottenham believed to be interested in signing the RB Leipzig centre-back in January.
According to Tuttosport, Juventus had representatives in the stands to watch Gvardiol for Croatia as the runner-ups of the 2018 World Cup faced Morocco in the early kick-off of the day, with the Vatreni keeping a clean sheet in their 2022 opener in a 0-0 stalemate.
Gvardiol flew out to Qatar as one of the young talents to keep an eye on with the youngster a regular for Leipzig in the Bundesliga and already attracting major interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs. As reported by the Telegraph, Chelsea are the favourites to land the centre-back for £44m.
However, the Blues aren’t the only team interested in Gvardiol, with journalist Alasdair Gold reporting that the Croatian wonderkid is heavily wanted by Tottenham. However, the north London side could face an incredibly hard battle to sign the defender with Juventus now in the race.
Indeed, Chelsea are already the established favourites to sign Gvardiol in 2023 if reports are to be believed. But, Juventus entering the race will only complicate matters for the west London side and Tottenham, with the Serie A giants a club who could easily match the Premier League duo.
Labelled as ‘extraordinary’ by Croatia legend and former Bayern Munich star Ivica Olic, Gvardiol has the potential to become one of the best defenders in football in the years to come. And for Tottenham, missing out on the youngster would be a massive blow for Antonio Conte, especially if Juventus win the race.
Juventus signing Gvardiol will be a massive blow for Tottenham
A central defender with potential very much feels like something on Tottenham’s transfer agenda, with Gvardiol arguably the outstanding candidate to fill this role in the squad if Conte and Fabio Paratici can get things their way. Which is why Juventus entering the race and potentially signing the youngster is such a blow.
After all, Conte and Paratici’s links to the Serie A giants make the somewhat of a defacto rival for Tottenham, and missing out on a huge talent such as Gvardiol will hurt for the Italian duo, with Spurs also losing out on a talent who could go on to define defending for an entire generation.
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