Man City receive Josko Gvardiol boost as Premier League rivals 'pull out of race' and more transfer rumours

Liverpool and Tottenham have both cooled their interest in Manchester City-linked Josko Gvardiol after deeming RB Leipzig's £80million demands 'unrealistic', according to reports.

Gvardiol has emerged on the radar of several top European clubs after an impressive season in Leipzig. The centre-back has played 37 times across all competitions for his club and was one of the World Cup's outstanding defenders as Croatia progressed into the semi-finals.

City have been linked with the 21-year-old in recent weeks amid uncertainty over the future of Aymeric Laporte. The Spanish international has fallen out of favour this season and could look to leave the Etihad, with Pep Guardiola thought to be eyeing a replacement already.

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Any move for Gvardiol will likely be met with competition from across Europe, but Football Insider reports that both Liverpool and Spurs have pulled out of the race due to Leipzig's demands. The Bundesliga outfit are said to be wanting around £80million for their defender, who is currently tied down to a contract running until 2027.

Elsewhere, The Times reports that AC Milan are considering a bid for Kyle Walker with the 32-year-old also out of favour under Guardiola.

Walker started just his fourth game since the beginning of March in Saturday's 3-0 FA Cup semi-final win over Sheffield United, with John Stones often preferred in the biggest games. Guardiola admitted at the start of April that the right-back cannot perform the inverted full-back role required of him in the current system.

The England international will enter the final 12 months of his contract this summer, with a lack of talks over a new deal alerting clubs over his potential