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New Chelsea manager Graham Potter reportedly wants the club to sign Red Bull Leipzig's Josko Gvardiol to bolster their squad.
As per German journalist Christian Falk (via the Daily Star), the Blues are planning to go in for Gvardiol in January 2023. They reportedly chased the centre-back in the recently concluded summer transfer window, lodging a bid worth £77 million for the Croatian. However, Leipzig rejected the bid.
The Bundesliga outfit then went on to renew Gvardiol's contract with the club as well and his current deal now runs up to the summer of 2027. This will give Leipzig plenty of control over any approach from other clubs for the defender.
Gvardiol joined the German outfit only last summer from Dinamo Zagreb. The 20-year-old made 46 appearances across competitions in his debut campaign for Leipzig, scoring two goals and three assists. He also played a starring role in their DFB Pokal win and their run to the UEFA Europa League semifinals.
The Croatian has played in all six of Leipzig's Bundesliga games this season, with the team currently 10th after picking up just two wins and two draws.
Chelsea were one of the biggest spenders this summer
Chelsea seemed intent on revamping their squad in the most recent transfer window. The Blues needed new personnel across the pitch, with their defense in particular looking lightweight after the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
After a quiet start to the summer, they signed Kalidou Koulibaly from S.S.C. Napoli and added Marc Cucurella from Brighton & Hove Albion. Towards the end of the window, Chelsea signed Wesley Fofana from Leicester City in a deal worth around £75 million as well.
The Blues also let go of the misfiring Timo Werner, who returned to Leipzig on a permanent deal and sent Romelu Lukaku back to Inter Milan on a season-long loan. To make up for those departures in attack, they made some high-profile additions, signing Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The club also brought in talented young midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka and goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina, while Denis Zakaria joined on loan from Juventus.
However, just seven matches into the new season, Chelsea's new owners let go of manager Thomas Tuchel and replaced him with Potter. The latter's first game in charge of the Blues has been delayed due to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
