Josko Gvardiol remains the priority for Manchester City in the summer transfer window as they work to close a deal.
Pep Guardiola is looking to add the 21-year-old defender to his squad for the new season after finding success with four centre-backs across his backline. City currently have nine senior defenders on their books in the senior squad, but Joao Cancelo, Aymeric Laporte and Kyle Walker could leave while 18-year-old Rico Lewis is still learning.
RB Leipzig want £85m for Croatian star Gvardiol plus additional performance-related payments and City are not yet ready to meet that valuation despite advanced talks, but all parties still expect a deal can be done. Securing Gvardiol remains the biggest piece of business for City in the market this summer as they look to build on their Treble-winning campaign.
Otherwise, the Blues are waiting on players such as Bernardo Silva to find a club offering an acceptable deal. There have been no moves for midfielders since pulling out of the running for Declan Rice, while reports of a bid for Atletico winger Ricardo Riquelme are wide of the mark.
Also read: City have an obvious replacement for wantaway star Bernardo Silva
City were boosted by news of two sales this week. Pedro Porro's permanent move to Tottenham means that the Blues will receive between £9m and £10m as part of a sell-on clause they inserted when selling him to Sporting, while Premier League newcomers Burnley buying England Under-21s goalkeeper James Trafford will give City an initial £15m that could rise to £19m.
