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Chelsea are ready to battle neighbours Spurs to sign Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol.
Now that the takeover is completed, Chelsea are ready to flex their muscles in the transfer market, with a defensive rebuild a priority. They are looking for at least two players to replace the departing Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rüdiger, and are also being heavily linked once more with Jules Koundé of Sevilla.
Gvardiol, who plays on the left-side of defence is one of their top targets, but the Croat international is also the subject of interest from Tottenham.
Leipzig, though, do not want to part with the 20-year old, and, because he ahs no buy-out clause in his contract, will strike a hard bargain before they consider letting him go.
And given that he is under contract at the Bundesliga club until 2026, that puts them in a very strong negotiating position.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.