Liverpool can accomplish Torres transfer repeat with Josko Gvardiol

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Liverpool could steal Chelsea target Josko Gvardiol from under their noses after the Croatian admitted his love for the Reds in a recent interview. The allure of Anfield has proven effective in the past with Fernando Torres jetting to Merseyside back in 2007 after a similar childhood affection for the club was exposed. 

Torres was one of the most in-demand strikers in Europe by the time he picked Liverpool as his destination. The blonde-haired striker was scoring at a rapid and consistent rate at Atletico Madrid but fans became savvy to his love for the Reds when a hidden message inside his captain’s armband was caught on camera, reading: “You’ll never walk alone.”

The Spaniard was an instant hit at Anfield with 24 Premier League goals in his first season and he quickly became a cult hero. Gvardiol could achieve similar status after making his love for the club public during a recent interview. 

When pressed on which club he wanted to play for as a youngster, he told RTL Danas: “That would definitely be Liverpool. Since I was little, I watched a lot of Liverpool matches with my dad and we covered every season in detail. It is a club that has remained in my heart.”

The Reds could use the centre-back’s admission as a platform to steal his signature from Chelsea’s grasp. Liverpool aren’t heavily linked with defensive reinforcements this winter but Virgil van Dijk is set for a spell on the sidelines and Joe Gomez has been disappointing when called upon this season. 

The battle for Gvardiol’s signature may not unfold until the summer regardless with Chelsea recently welcoming centre-back Benoit Badiashile from Monaco in a £35million deal. Gvardiol is expected to come with a significantly higher price tag after impressing with RB Leipzig and putting in a series of commanding performances with Croatia at the World Cup. 

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Reports indicate that the 20-year-old could cost as much as £99m with Real Madrid and Manchester City also interested in fighting for his services. Chelsea were strongly linked during the summer before putting the deal on hold and Gvardiol has shed new light on the long-running saga. 

“I’m not in a hurry. I’m at Leipzig and we still have six months to finish the season and to win something,” he added. “And then we will look further to the future. Last summer a transfer was close and they simply kept me. I hope to spend these six months with them [Leipzig].

“Chelsea did not give up, but it was agreed that we would go for the winter. Winter has come, so we need to see what and how to proceed, but it’s okay, there’s still plenty of time, so we’ll see. Nobody presented anything to me. But I’m not in a hurry, we have time, let them arrange the plan and we’ll see.”

Gvardiol signed a new contract with Leipzig as recently as September last year with the youngster tied down in Germany until 2027. It remains to be seen whether Chelsea or Liverpool come calling with Leipzig unlikely to compromise on the fee. 

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