RB Leipzig respond to Chelsea’s interest in Josko Gvardiol

RB Leipzig executive Oliver Mintzlaff has warned Chelsea that they have no plans to offload centre-back Josko Gvardiol.

After failing with a move for the Croatia international earlier this summer, Chelsea have opened talks with Leipzig over a £77m move which would see Gvardiol return to the Red Bull Arena for the remainder of the 2022/23 season.

90min understands there is a confidence that the deal will be completed in the near future, but Mintzlaff has warned Chelsea that selling Gvardiol is not part of Leipzig’s plans.

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

Leipzig have made it clear to Chelsea that they are not prepared to sell Gvardiol this summer – that was their stance even before fellow defender Lukas Klostermann went under the knife to address an ankle injury – but the Blues are hopeful of convincing them to sell next year instead.