Gianluca Di Marzio had some bad news for Liverpool fans who may be keen on seeing the club swoop for Josko Gvardiol, sharing that both Chelsea and Real Madrid have made bids.
Though links between the Reds and the defender have been tenuous, it’s worth noting that the player has already expressed his preference for an Anfield switch, if possible.
“I know Chelsea and Real Madrid are most interested in him at the moment. They have already put in bids, but his transfer value has skyrocketed due to his World Cup performance,” the reporter told SoccerNews.
“Chelsea will probably make an attempt in January, but Real Madrid prefer a summer deal. I think Madrid would be the best for his career. Not only because we are talking about Real Madrid, but also because of the presence of Carlo Ancelotti, and he can make him better.
“Ancelotti knows a lot about defending and Gvardiol would benefit from the help of an Italian coach at this stage of his career.”
The Merseysiders are far from being in need of new centre-halves, of course, after handing Joe Gomez a new long-term deal and possessing both the likes of Ibrahima Konate and Joel Matip beyond Virgil van Dijk.
That’s not to say that some investment won’t be required in the relatively near future dependent on how the club handles the futures of our Cameroonian and English centre-backs.
The jury still remains out – despite his obvious qualities – on our No.2 in light of his inconsistent performances and unreliability when it comes to injuries.
Though not short of consistency, Matip likewise has proved to be far from robust over the course of his Liverpool career and so it’s not out of the question that we could look to bring in fresh legs in that department in 2024.
By then, of course, the opportunity to snap up a highly-rated defender in Gvardiol may well have passed.