RB Leipzig issue hands off warning over Josko Gvardiol amid mounting interest from Chelsea and Spurs

RB Leipzig are battling to retain Josko Gvardiol amid mounting interest from England, led by Chelsea and Tottenham.

The German side are digging their heels in and hoping to keep hold of their star centre-back Gvardiol.

Though Chelsea are preparing to spend big following the completion of Todd Boehly’s £4.25bn takeover and Gvardiol is one of the top targets in their planned defensive rebuild.

RB Leipzig are battling to retain highly-rated centre-back Josko Gvardiol (above)

Chelsea are in the market for at least two centre backs with Antonio Rudiger’s move to Real Madrid confirmed today and Andreas Christensen poised to follow him to La Liga and join Barcelona.

Croatia international Gvardiol, 20, is on Chelsea’s shortlist along with Sevilla’s Jules Kounde, who is expected to move to Stamford Bridge, and they are now in position to accelerate their interest in both with their new owners now in place.

Spurs are also in the market for a left-sided centre back and have Gvardiol among the options in their sights. Manchester United have made tentative enquiries into Gvardiol’s situation too.

With no buyout clause in his contract which expires in 2026 and the growing interest, Bundesliga side Leipzig are bracing themselves for bids.

The 20-year-old is one of the top targets for Chelsea in their planned defensive rebuild

Gvardiol joined Leipzig from Dinamo Zagreb for around £14 in September 2020, having previously been linked with Leeds, in a deal that made him the most expensive Croatian teenager ever.

He remained on loan at Dinamo for the rest of that season before linking up with Leipzig full-time last summer.

Gvardiol quickly established himself in the Leipzig team, developed impressively and played almost 50 games during 2021/22, helping Domenico Tedesco’s side finish fourth in the Bundesliga, win the German Cup and reach the Europa League semi-finals.

And his displays in Germany and Europe have led to him being tipped to eventually become one of the world’s leading centre-backs.