Gvardiol was desperate for summer move to Chelsea

Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol has revealed that he eagerly wanted to join Chelsea in the summer but was denied permission by his current club, RB Leipzig. 

Gvardiol is currently regarded as one of the best defenders in world football and has been pursued by many suitors all over Europe, including top clubs in the Premier League like Chelsea, and Manchester City, as well as Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona. 

Despite being only 21 years old, the RB Leipzig defender is thought to be an incredibly solid and smart defender and has been touted as the solution to the defensive issues of any club that can afford his reportedly high buy-out clause. 

In the summer, spendthrift Chelsea was one of these clubs and reportedly made RB Leipzig a generous offer, but the German club refused to sell their talented defender, much to Gvardiol’s chagrin. 

Speaking to the Times ahead of RB Leipzig’s UEFA Champions League round of 16 first-leg match against Manchester City, Gvardiol expressed his feelings about the botched transfer, saying, “My agent told me: Chelsea is extremely interested. You think about a serious offer from huge club like Chelsea, but Leipzig said they didn’t want to sell me.” 

“I really struggled with that decision but yes, we didn’t make an agreement”.

Although Gvardiol did not get his summer move, his ambition has not changed, and he still sees himself in the Premier League someday with Chelsea or another of England’s giants. 

“I want to play in the Premier League one day. I knew that I needed to take a few steps more before but I really want to play there.”

He however also expressed contentment with his current club, saying, “At the end Leipzig is a really good club and I feel good here”.

Gvardiol might not be able to join Chelsea anymore after the Blues signed 21-year-old Benoît Badiashile who, like Gvardiol is also a left-footed centre-back, but the Croatian is not short of suitors and will probably make a big move this summer.