Football: Josko Gvardiol joins Manchester City, poker around Harry Kane continues

Highlights: Joško Gvardiol signs five-year contract with Manchester City. The transfer fee is said to be around 90 million euros. Djibril Sow leaves Eintracht Frankfurt after four years to join Sevilla. Decision on Harry Kane and FC Bayern postponed again, according to a report in the »Bild« newspaper. The German football record champions had asked Spurs to accept a final offer for the England star on Friday before midnight. But now the negotiations are likely to continue with a transfer fee of at least 100 million euros expected.

Who's coming, who's going? The most important transfers and rumours: today with Gvardiol's departure from RB Leipzig, FC Bayern's poker game around Harry Kane and a Frankfurt departure.

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Josko Gvardiol leaves RB Leipzig

Photo: IMAGO/Simon Stacpoole / IMAGO/Offside Sports Photography

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Gvardiol transfer to Manchester City official

The transfer of defender Joško Gvardiol from DFB-Pokal winners RB Leipzig to Champions League winners Manchester City is perfect. The Croatian signed a five-year contract with team manager Pep Guardiola's English champions. This was confirmed by the Premier League club. The transfer fee is said to be around 90 million euros.

According to RB managing director Max Eberl, the "overall financial package" makes Gvardiol the "most expensive defender in history". Therefore, the club "decided to agree to the early transfer, taking into account all parameters," added the RB managing director: "Joško is going to one of the best teams in the world. That alone shows the development he has made with us over the past two years. Like others, he exemplifies the path we are taking at RB Leipzig."

After Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool) and Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea), Gvardiol is the third well-known, but also lucrative Leipzig departure this summer. The defender came to Leipzig from Dinamo Zagreb in 2021 for 19 million euros, and a year ago he reached the World Cup semi-finals with the Croatian national team. Gvardiol has made 87 competitive appearances for Leipzig over the past two seasons, scoring five goals. He was involved in both DFB Cup triumphs of the Saxons.

Sow is drawn from Frankfurt in the direction of Seville

Midfielder Djibril Sow is leaving Eintracht Frankfurt after four years to join Spanish Europa League winners Sevilla. The Swiss international has signed a contract with the Andalusians until 2028, with a transfer fee of between 13 and 14 million euros. Sow came to Frankfurt from Young Boys Bern in 2019 as Swiss champions, scoring eight goals in 160 competitive games for the Hessians. The 26-year-old's contract ran for another year.

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Decision on Kane and FC Bayern postponed again

The transfer poker for dream striker Harry Kane between FC Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur continues. According to a report in the »Bild« newspaper, a decision between the two clubs was postponed again. Previously, the British newspaper »Telegraph« had reported that the German football record champions had asked Spurs to accept a final offer for the England star on Friday before midnight. All parties involved have an interest in ensuring that the issue is clarified as quickly as possible, it said. But now the negotiations are likely to continue.

According to media reports, Spurs expect a transfer fee of at least 100 million euros for their record goalscorer. The Bavarians are said to have improved their offer again this week. In the event that the clubs fail to reach an agreement, Kane would be expected to fulfil his current contract in London and could then leave Tottenham on a free transfer in the summer of 2024. The 30-year-old attacker himself is said to have long ruled out an early extension. Spurs owner Joe Lewis is said to have instructed club boss Daniel Levy to sell Kane now.

ara/dpa/sid