RB Leipzig manager Marco Rose believes the Bundesliga club will be able to fend off interest to retain the highly-rated, Liverpool -linked defender Josko Gvardiol this summer.
However, Rose says the 2022 World Cup breakout star, who was wanted by Chelsea last summer and is also said to be on Manchester City's radar, has already informed him of his desire to one day play in the Premier League.
Liverpool are expected to sanction an overhaul in both defence and midfielder and Gvardiol has been a name touted with a big-money move to Merseyside as Anfield officials look for long-term replacements for both Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip.
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Matip is in the final 18 months of his Reds deal and has struggled for form this campaign. Meanwhile, Van Dijk's contract expires in the summer of 2025, having penned an extension in July 2021.
Gvardiol, who has previously admitted his love for Liverpool as a child, rose to prominence after a string of impressive performances for Croatia during the 2022 World Cup.
But his club manager is confident of keeping hold of the 21-year-old, who equalised for Leipzig in their 1-1 Champions League draw at home to Man City on Wednesday.
"Josko Gvardiol will be a RB Leipzig player next season as well," Rose told tv2sport. "I am the coach and I am asking for that.
"‘He is happy here. He said he wants to play in the Premier League, but he didn’t say when!"
Gvardiol has excelled since making the move to Germany from Dinamo Zagreb in the summer of 2020. However, after returning to Zagreb for the 2020/21 season on loan, he would finally get his break in Germany as both Ibrahima Konate and Dayot Upamecano swapped the Red Bull Arena to join Liverpool and Bayern Munich respectively.
Gvardiol's current contract expires in the summer of 2027. It is said that he has a £98m release clause in his contract, which will come into play in the summer of 2024.
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