Mateo Kovacic says Josko Gvardiol 'is ready to join him at Man City

Mateo Kovacic insists Josko Gvardiol ‘is ready’ to take the next step and join him at Manchester City

• Manchester City are negotiating with RB Leipzig for defender Josko Gvardiol 
• Mateo Kovacic would be happy to see his Croatia team-mate join the club
• The former Chelsea midfielder believes Gvardiol will improve under Guardiola 

Mateo Kovacic believes Croatia team-mate Josko Gvardiol is ready to make his next career step and join him at Manchester City.

City are negotiating with RB Leipzig for the 21-year-old defender, valued at around £86million by his club, who want talks concluded before the season starts.

‘Josko has great potential,’ Kovacic said. ‘He can come here and learn and be the best version of himself. I’d obviously like it — I’m a good friend with him and he’s Croatian. It would be nice to have a Croatian by my side here.

‘He’s already played a lot of big games. He is ready for this step.

I think it’s a good time (to join City). They are on a great run, a very confident team and a team you can learn from. They have possibly the best manager in history. So I came here to join a great group and to try to learn.

Manchester City are negotiating with RB Leipzig for 21-year-old defender Joso Gvardiol

Mateo Kovacic (Left) says he would be happy to see his Croatian team-mate join the club

‘He’s still young but he’s mature. He doesn’t need much advice. He had a great World Cup and a great season with Leipzig.’

Kovacic, a £25m signing from Chelsea, is so far the only fresh face in Pep Guardiola’s squad, who finished their pre-season tour with a 2-1 loss to Atletico Madrid in Seoul.

Nathan Ake, a potential rival for Gvardiol on the left-hand side of City’s defence, did not feature against Atletico due to a tight calf, but he is expected to be fit for Sunday’s Community Shield against Arsenal.

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