Chelsea: Boehly wants 'early deal' for £78m star at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea will ‘look to clinch’ a deal for RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol ‘early’ next summer to avoid disappointment, according to journalist Dean Jones.

The Blues were linked with the highly-rated 20-year-old throughout the most recent transfer window but were unable to secure his services this time around.

German football reporter Stefan Bienkowski revealed back in June that both Chelsea and their local rivals Tottenham Hotspur had been informed ‘unequivocally’ that Gvardiol was not for sale.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano then disclosed at the end of last month that the Blues were in ‘advanced talks’ with Leipzig over the Croatia international.

However, although Chelsea hoped to complete the deal before the deadline, Gvardiol would not have made the switch from the Red Bull Arena to Stamford Bridge until the summer of 2023.

Romano stated that the Blues made an ‘official proposal’ worth €90 million (£77.7m) to Leipzig, and although negotiations took place, a deal could not be agreed upon before Thursday’s 11 pm cut-off.

Only time will tell if Chelsea are able to revive a deal, yet they are likely to face stiff competition for Gvardiol’s signature if so.

Jones believes that Chelsea will want to move quickly over Gvardiol to avoid the disappointment they endured over Jules Kounde, who ended up joining Barcelona instead.

He told GiveMeSport: “It still seems bizarre that Kounde did not end up a Chelsea player after everything they went through, so that shows they won’t have it all their own way in terms of signing Gvardiol next summer.

“They will look to clinch it early, though, because I think they were burned a little bit by the Kounde situation.”

Gvardiol enjoyed an outstanding 2021/22 campaign for Leipzig, racking