Josko Gvardiol is being tracked by all of the Premier League big hitters including Newcastle United, but he may just have failed his audition as his RB Leipzig side shipped seven goals against the English champions in the Champions League last night.
Gvardiol got a taste of playing in England last night when he turned out for RB Leipzig at the Etihad Stadium. It’s probably a taste he wants to forget. He’s probably still gargling metaphorical mouthwash.
While the defeat wasn’t all down to Gvardiol it was noted that his contribution was practically non-existent with Squawka noting on their Twitter that the young defender didn’t make a single tackle or interception in the entire game.
Newcastle target Gvardiol fluffed his lines in his English audition
Perhaps the biggest irony here is that Gvardiol, touted as the best young defender in the world has been called the ‘Haaland of defenders‘ and it was Erling Haaland himself who helped himself to five goals in the Champions League round of 16 second-leg tie. To be honest, he could have had more.
After a performance like that the Premier League’s top teams may be seriously reconsidering any planned moves for the 21-year-old Croatian whose asking price was said to be around the £88million mark. Perhaps not any more.
Gvardiol’s performance is unlikely to have put clubs off, but we can hope
Granted it might be a bit hyperbolic to suggest that one questionable performance is going to cause big clubs to turn their back on him. That being said, it will likely play a part in negotiations as it could be used as an indicator that he still needs further development before he’s ready for the Premier League.
Making a move in the summer might be seen as a gamble now after last night’s showing, but Gvardiol didn’t get his reputation from one performance so it’s not exactly going to be shattered after one either – no matter how embarrassing it may be.
It could be good news for Newcastle, though, if the other interested clubs do start to question if he’s up to the task, Eddie Howe could swoop while they weigh up their options. We can just hope that it was just enough to give Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City pause for thought