Intimidating and sophisticated - why Man City have the perfect defender in Josko Gvardiol

Many were wondering how Manchester City could possibly improve their team after winning the treble last season. En route to the greatest season in the history of the club, City tormented Arsenal and battered Manchester United in the league, pummelling Real Madrid and eclipsing Inter Milan in the Champions League final.

Improving such a team seemed nearly impossible and it would take a generational talent to make them better. Josko Gvardiol is just that. The Croatian is nearly 6ft 2in, built like an ox, as quick as a sprinter and has the composure and ability to read the game as well as anyone else in the sport.

On top of that, he is majestic with the ball at his feet and is left-footed. If you asked a computer to construct the perfect centre half, Gvardiol would pop up.

And City looks set to finally get their man, having agreed a straight €90m (£77.5m) fee with RB Leipzig. The 21-year-old is set to travel to Manchester for a medical and to confirm terms, although it's not clear whether he'll be available for Sunday's Community Shield against Arsenal.

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Questions have been asked about whether Manchester City truly need him given the depth they have in that position. With Kyle Walker possibly leaving for Bayern Munich and Aymeric Laporte’s days are seemingly numbered, it was a no-brainer. Without them or a replacement like Gvardiol the Blues would have a significant gap in defence, something Pep values immensely to their success.

Gvardiol is also left-footed and has played at left-back before. Pep loves to play his centre-halves as full-backs from time to time and the Croatian perfectly fits the bill.

Ball progression is another aspect of Gvardiol’s