RB Leipzig CEO casts major doubt over Chelsea’s £77m defender transfer

RB Leipzig CEO Oliver Mintzlaff has told Chelsea to look elsewhere for a new defender after insisting Josko Gvardiol will stay with the Bundesliga club.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel is in the process of reshaping a Chelsea defence which has conceded eight goals in five games. Leicester star Wesley Fofana is set to be unveiled at Stamford Bridge, but Tuchel wants another defender in.

The German coach lost Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger on frees in the summer.

Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella have arrived, but Tuchel wants more options.

“Right now I think we could need some more players in some positions,” he said ahead of the defeat to Southampton.

And Fabrizio Romano has claimed Tuchel is intent on capturing Gvardiol. In fact earlier in the summer, Romano claimed Gvardiol was fast becoming Tuchel’s No 1 target.

Romano has since stated the Blues are in ‘advanced talks’ with Leipzig over the Croatia international after launching a £77m bid.

Romano insisted the offer had not been instantly accepted, but the clubs were talking.

Man City interest in Gvardiol

However, Mintzlaff has cast huge doubt over the deal.

He told BILD: “Josko is a great player who will certainly arouse a lot of interest – he still has a contract with us until 2026. We assume that he will not only play with us this season, but also next season.”

Gvardiol would only arrive at Stamford Bridge next summer. Any prospective deal would see the 20-year-old loaned back to Leipzig, according to reports.

The injury to Lukas Klostermann has limited the German club’s defensive options, so they are not willing to lose the Croatian.

The BILD report does concede that the centre-back is “still at the top of the list for Premier League clubs”. 

Chelsea are joined by Man City in their interest of Gvardiol and “the next offers for him are only a matter of time”.