Josko Gvardiol set to wait for Man City debut as he nears £78m deal

Josko Gvardiol is not expected to play any part in the Community Shield as he nears a big-money move to Manchester City.

City are closing in on the defender after agreeing a £78m move with RB Leipzig, with the 21-year-old undergoing a medical on Friday. The deal will be announced soon providing there are no issues flagged up, although that is not understood to be in time for Gvardiol to face Arsenal on Sunday.

Gvardiol had been part of RB Leipzig's pre-season training while he waited for a deal to be agreed, so will be able to step straight into the first team. However, with Sunday's game coming too soon for him that means that a game against Burnley at Turf Moor is set up for a debut instead.

The signing of Gvardiol will bolster what is an already-exceptional defence. Manu Akanji, Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias, John Stones, and Aymeric Laporte all formed a formidable team last season that occasionally saw the manager line up with four centre-backs, and he credited the backline as the biggest improvement to help them win the Treble.

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Laporte was disappointed by the lack of minutes last season and could leave for more regular games, although there have not been any offers yet this summer to give the club a decision to make. Asked about the prospect of having six centre-backs in his squad, Guardiola did not see it as an issue.

"The season is so long. Many many games," he said."