Josko Gvardiol has shown he could be perfect for important role in Pep Guardiola's new Man City tactic

If Josko Gvardiol is to join Manchester City this summer then past praise from Rio Ferdinand may explain why he is the perfect Pep Guardiola defender.

City have made the 21-year-old their top priority, following the £25million signing of Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea late last month. But they may be forced to hand over a record fee for a defender, with RB Leipzig wanting £85million plus add-ons for their star.

Despite what fans of Premier League rival teams might think, City do not throw money around without consideration and their backing out of the Declan Rice deal is proof of such. Spending that kind of money requires a player to match Guardiola's needs to a tee.

The Catalan started leaning towards a particularly solid back-four compiled entirely of central defenders last season, with the quartet of Manuel Akanji, John Stones, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake starting the Champions League final win over Inter Milan.

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The versatility of Ake, Stones and Akanji has been crucial with all three comfortable at full-back. And while Gvardiol has spent much of his career in a central position, Ferdinand has praised his ability out wide as well.

"He is [the best young centre-back in the world]," Ferdinand told BT Sport ahead of City's Champions League clash with Leipzig earlier this year. "I watched him closely at the World Cup and he was magnificent.

"At the Euros, he played left-back, previously for Croatia and he was very good and competent there, but his composure was what stood out for me. His stature as a big and quick defender in the modern game, he’s got all the attributes that you need and his temperament is the thing that stands out for me.

"To be a