Chelsea's transfer pursuit of RB Leipzig star Josko Gvardiol has taken a significant turn following the reveal of a €110million (£96million) release clause in the 20-year-olds contract that will become active in 2024. Todd Boehly is keen to add further signings to Graham Potter's squad in the January transfer window with Gvardiol having been monitored by the club for some time, football.london understands.
The interest surrounding Gvardiol stems back to the summer when Boehly attempted a late swoop for the defender, before he signed a new contract at the German outfit. Chelsea were also heavily interested in his team-mate Christopher Nkunku, with that deal 'confirmed' for the Frenchman to arrive in west London ahead of the 2023/24 season.
Following the announcement of former Leipzig recruitment chief Christopher Vivell, the backroom re-shuffle conducted by Boehly is complete, with attention now likely to be firmly focused on the January transfer window.
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The knee injury and subsequent surgery to Armando Broja saw Chelsea line up their first signing ahead of the winter window in the form of Molde star David Datro Fofana in an £8.6million transfer.
Chelsea are unlikely to be satisfied with just one arrival though and following the recent reveal of the Gvardiol's release clause, likely inserted into the new deal he signed earlier this year, negotiations to secure an early deal could be on the cards.
As confirmed by Sky Sports Germany reporter Florian Plettenburg following an initial report from Yvonne Gabriel, Gvardiol will see a €110million (£96million) release clause in his contract become active in 2024.
Plettenberg also states that Leipzig have a "good" chance of keeping Gvardiol at the club in the summer and if that plays out as suggested, his clause would become activate and that price of just under £100million would likely be the demand to any interested club.
The release clause is not active for another year, though, and Chelsea could certainly seal a transfer for Gvardiol in the two windows before the start of 2024. Boehly and Co. now know what Gvardiol's price will be in just over a year which could be an incentive to pull off a similar early deal struck with the German club for Nkunku.
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