How Liverpool might have scuppered Manchester City's pursuit of big-money signing

Manchester City's pursuit of RB Leipzig's Josko Gvardiol could have just hit a major snag — and it's all because of Liverpool.

While the Reds themselves have been credited with a long-standing interest in the Croatian centre-back, it seems that another transfer — that of Dominik Szoboszlai — could be the reason for Gvardiol's move to Manchester breaking down.

RB Leipzig's director of sport, Max Eberl, told Sky Germany on Friday that the club is no longer compelled to sell Gvardiol because "the transfer of Szoboszlai has secured us financially".

The Bundesliga side are £60m richer after Liverpool triggered Szoboszlai's release clause just before it expired on 30 June, making him their second summer signing after Alexis Mac Allister.

"We're still very far apart"

Amid intense speculation about the Croatian defender's future, there were reports indicating that the 21-year-old was close to undergoing a medical with the Premier League champions after an agreement was reached. However, this has since been quashed by Eberl.

"The fact is that Man City would like to have him [but] currently we're still very far apart," he said. "We don't need the money. We'd prefer Josko to stay."

Leipzig have already seen two of their prized assets leave this summer, with Christopher Nkunku and Szoboszlai joining Chelsea and Liverpool, respectively.

However, Eberl admitted that if the Croatian pushed for a move, it could still go ahead: "We're not a club that blocks anything. We're transparent. But we have our ideas and want them to be implemented."

Gvardiol is currently under contract at the Red Bull Arena until 2027, and it is believed that Leipzig are demanding a fee of at least €100m (£86.7m) for the highly-rated defender.