RB Leipzig transfer conveyor belt continues with Josko Gvardiol poised for Man City move

So, who’s winning the transfer window, that imaginary spin-off from real football that fills speculative hours between seasons? Business in the selling and buying of elite players has seldom seemed more dispersed from the central, monied hub of Europe, with the significant sums spent by Saudi Arabia’s Pro League clubs and some headline recruitment in the American MLS.

But, with nine days left of July, the eye is drawn to the turnover, the profit margins and the yield of adept scouting at RB Leipzig, where on Friday they were ready themselves for a potentially record-breaking sale.

Should Josko Gvardiol finalise a likely move from Leipzig to Manchester City, he may well clock in as the most expensive defender in the sport’s history. A fee close to €100 million would also push the Bundesliga club’s income just up behind Chelsea’s €250 million in sales so far this summer.

But where Chelsea are selling off players as urgently as they splurged on would-be future stars in the last winter transfer window, the Leipzig model is not so volatile.

For supporters of a club with a startling recent history of rising up the sport’s hierarchy – and a deep unpopularity across the rest of the Bundesliga for the corporate takeover by soft-drink conglomerate Red Bull that enabled four promotions achieved in six seasons after 2010 – the trading routines are eerily predictable.

Leipzig, Champions League regulars since 2017, meet a bigger rival in Europe and that rival then swoops for one of their classy defenders. Paris Saint-Germain did it. When Leipzig went all the way to a European Cup semi-final, losing 3-0 to PSG, they had 22-year-old Nordi Mukiele at right-back. He is now a PSG player.

Attacker Christopher Nkunku left Leipzig this