“Manchester City are delighted to confirm the signing of Joško Gvardiol from RB Leipzig on a five-year contract. The 21-year-old becomes the second signing of the summer transfer window ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, following in the footsteps of fellow Croatian international Mateo Kovacic. proudly displayed Manchester City at the beginning of August when offering the services of Joško Gvardiol (21 years old). Arrived for 90 million euros (excluding bonus), the left-hander came with strong references. Already two full seasons at RB Leipzig (87 matches, 5 goals and 3 goals) where he became a benchmark in the Bundesliga. Above all, a monumental 2022 World Cup with Croatia where he rose to third place.
Quite a CV when discovering the Premier League for the young defender. However, the task facing him is not easy since he must adapt to a rather particular style of play under the orders of Pep Guardiola and many players have needed time to get there. Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish and even Rodri Hernandez needed a first season of adaptation. Especially since the central defender only made one appearance in his usual position, it was on the left of a three-man defense in the English League Cup against Newcastle (1-0 defeat). Also playing five Premier League matches as a left back and the UEFA Super Cup final, Joško Gvardiol is not yet indisputable, but has playing time at the start of the season and is showing interesting things.
Positioned as left side
Aware, however, that learning this new style of play will take time, he is confident about the process as he declared at a press conference during a gathering with Croatia: “I still have a lot to learn from coach Guardiola. The most important thing is that I brought a dose of calm to the national team’s game. This is what is expected of me, to advance as simply as possible and do the defensive part with Šutalo (…) I like the way he treats each player. He cares, like any coach. He tries to fix every weakness of the player. We can see the calmness with the ball in each player, they are not afraid to play with the ball. That’s what makes Manchester City special.”
Arriving for the long term and with the aim of occupying the axis at a given moment, the presences of John Stones and Ruben Dias mean that he is currently in competition with Nathan Aké for the position of left defender (alternating between axis and corridor). A perspective that does not bother the player who knows the position well even if he remains willing to refocus at a given moment: “When I was young, I played both as a left back, but also as a number six. I changed jobs a lot. Finally, at 19, I started playing as a central defender. It’s just my position, it suits me perfectly.” Clean during his first copies, the Croatian missed this Saturday during the 2-1 defeat against Wolverhampton. His competitor, Nathan Aké, had a very difficult match against Pedro Neto. What could be better than a Champions League match this Wednesday against his former club, RB Leipzig, to continue picking up points?
