Josko Gvardiol fee is another reward for Man City transfer policy

All the signs pointed to RB Leipzig wanting a world-record fee for a defender if Manchester City were going to sign Josko Gvardiol.

It had looked like it would take more than the £80m that Manchester United spent on Harry Maguire in 2019, and potentially closer to £100m. City have spent that amount before, but prefer to operate around the £60m mark, and have only spent over £65m once. The Blues were set on Gvardiol, and the fact that they were willing to pay so much shows how keen they were to sign him.

City believe that Gvardiol can play a role in their defence for the next decade, viewing him as a long-term signing. With a €90m (£77.5m) fee agreed, he will be worth every penny if he does indeed remain in Manchester until 2033.

In agreeing a fee below the world record, City will feel they have pulled off another smart signing in the transfer window, adding to a number of young, promising additions in the last few years.

ALSO READ: Man City agree £77.5m fee for Josko Gvardiol

To clear up the 'world record' talk - European press will claim that the €90m is above the Maguire fee, which at £80m converts to €93m under current exchange rates. That only shows the rate of inflation over the last four years, with Gvardiol's £77.5m fee underneath the Maguire fee and therefore not a world record for a defender.

It's only slightly above Liverpool's £75m signing of Virgil Van Dijk, which converts to €87m today. He came from Southampton aged 26, having played for Celtic before that. Chelsea signed Wesley Fofana, then 21, for €80m last summer.

Maybe a more appropriate comparison is Matthijs de Ligt's move from Ajax to Juventus in 2019 for £73m including add-ons. The Dutch international was 19 at the time with a good record as a