Pundits praise ‘excellent’ 20-year-old Chelsea target for titanic display in 0-0 World Cup draw

Pundits with high praise for Chelsea target Josko Gvardiol for his performance at the World Cup

As per the quotes on Football.London, BBC pundits were full of praise for Croatia centre-back and Chelsea target Josko Gvardiol for his excellent performance against Belgium and throughout the World Cup.

Croatia conceded only one goal in three group games in the tournament, largely thanks to a fantastic centre-back pairing of Gvardiol and Lovren. The former has been exceptional in every game, especially against Belgium in helping the team keep a clean sheet that was enough for them to go through to the next round.

The RB Leipzig defender has been linked with Chelsea for quite some time now. In the last few days, Daily Express reported that the Blues have stepped up their pursuit to sign the 20-year-old and a meeting is scheduled to accelerate the processes.

Here’s what the BBC pundits Jermaine Jenas and Micah Richards said about Gvardiol’s performance (h/t Football.London):

Here’s Jenas:

“He’s got it all. You can see when he comes out with the ball he’s got the ability to go by people. Drive into midfield with the ball, hit good passes. He defends properly as well, that’s the biggest thing you’re going to want a player like him to be in your team for.”

Richards added:

“Gvardiol today was excellent, he’s been excellent all tournament, no wonder he’s got an array of teams looking at him. The way he reads the game, that tackle on Lukaku in the death.”

The 20-year-old former Dinamo Zagreb youth product has a contract at Leipzig until the summer of 2027 (Transfermarkt). It is believed that the German side could hold out for a fee of more than £77m. English champions Manchester City are also in the race by the way.

In terms of attributes, Gvardiol is a left-footed centre-back, which in itself is an added advantage as there aren’t many top left-footed centre-backs. They add a different dimension to the team.

Other than that, the Croatia international has excellent game-reading skills, possesses good recovery speed, is good on the ball and loves a physical challenge. He can play as a centre-back or a left-back.

Chelsea are in a situation where veteran centre-back Thiago Silva has not extended his contract beyond this season yet. He is 38 now and the chances of him lasting in our starting XI beyond the summer are slim. He is still undecided though. So, we cannot make any final calls on that.

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To replace him, Gvardiol seems like an ideal option. He can play in multiple positions, but most importantly is a fantastic centre-back. He is young and can be a long-term option in that position for years to come.