Man City could be about to spend '£100m' on next Jack Grealish - pundit

Josko Gvardiol is not guaranteed to start at Man City if he joins the club.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, former Aston Villa defender Alan Hutton has claimed that Gvardiol will have to work to become a regular starter under Pep Guardiola, despite him already ticking all the boxes.

Man City are set to pull out all the stops to seal a deal for RB Leipzig star Josko Gvardiol following the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign, sources told Football Insider.

Football Insider revealed (9 June) that City have held initial talks with the German side over a move for the 21-year-old.

According to Sky Sports (19 May), Gvardiol has a release clause of almost £100million as part of that deal – but it doesn’t become active until the summer of 2024.

With a potential deal to City on the cards, Hutton believes that the promising defender is not guaranteed to start.

“They spent a £100million on Jack Grealish and he didn’t start every week,” Hutton told Football Insider.

“He is a fantastic footballer, left-sided and can play out with the ball, he ticks every box for Pep Guardiola.

“Pep is currently playing with four centre halves and with the one of defenders going to play in midfield, I think Gvardiol is that intelligent that he could be the player to go into the middle of the park.

“He’s still young, so yes it is a lot of money but I think he’s player that adds quality to a squad that is already full of talent."

In other news, Man City set to blow rivals away with record-breaking payout