Why Joško Gvardiol is the complete package for Manchester City

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Manchester City don’t usually splash the cash for massive, absurd fees, unless they are 100% confident that the player has the potential to be transformative. That’s already a compliment to the quality of their latest signing – Joško Gvardiol, who’s just signed for a reported fee of £77.6 million. Sure, it’s less than Manchester United spent on Harry Maguire. But it’s still a massive fee for a centre-back, even despite his age, profile, potential and future. Nevertheless, the massive fee looks to be justified for City, giving Guardiola exactly what he’s looking for from the left-side of his defensive set-up. Here is why Joško Gvardiol could be the complete package for City.

POSITIONING & ROLE

Joško Gvardiol typically plays as a ball-playing centre-back on the left-side of a back-four or even further left as part of a back-three. He’s confident and assured under pressure, a strong ball carrier, and an excellent switcher of play. Already, you can see how he’ll immediately play into City’s desire to keep the ball out from the back. But being able to play that left-sided role as part of their back-three build could be essential. It’s even more like a hand to a glove given that Gvardiol has plenty of exposure playing at left-back.

In fact, the first time that the now 21-year-old truly announced himself on the world stage came at the Euros in 2021, where he played a pivotal role for Croatia at left-back. That tournament earned him a move to RB Leipzig, where he quickly became one of the best centre-backs in the Bundesliga, whilst continuing his left-back versatility. That versatility became key for many players in Leipzig’s rotation over the years (e.g. Halstenberg, Klostermann, etc.), as managers transitioned between a 4-2-3-1 and various back-three formations. Gvardiol wasn’t the only player to make his presence felt in multiple slots across the back-line, but he certainly was the one to make his presence felt the most.

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With a sense of assuredness and physicality beyond his years, Gvardiol has always played beyond his age. Teammates like Mohamed Simakan (now 23) could often look rash on-the-ball or out of possession, yet Gvardiol typically kept that cool, composed head. That confidence and bravado takes flight in all phases of the game, allowing the Croatian defender to be the perfect player for Manchester City’s style of play.

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But his age, being just 21 years old, definitely plays into his massive fee. City’s centre-backs are all in the prime of their careers, but that won’t be the case for many more years. Stones and Laporte are pushing 30 years old, Aké and Akanji will be 29 next year, and Kyle Walker is well past the age of 30. We could see a stellar partnership form between Dias and Gvardiol that holds true for the next four years.

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But for the present, Gvardiol looks in poll position to play that left-sided role across the back-line, offering his dominance in 1v1 situations out of possession, with that left-footed progression out from the back in possession. Expect to see a slower progression into the City team than the likes of Dias and Akanji encountered when they joined. But within the first few months, don’t be surprised to see Joško Gvardiol completely make that left-back position his own.

ATTACKING STYLE OF PLAY

Despite his tough-tackling nature and excellence on the defensive end, any player signing for Manchester City will be prized for their ability to dominate possession. Joško Gvardiol certainly fits that billing, and offers them a left-footed option out from the back, making him all the more valuable. We all know the advantages that offers in opening more angles in possession. But Joško Gvardiol is arguably even more comfortable carrying and dribbling the ball out from the back, breaking lines through his physicality.

The Croatian completed 89% of his dribbles in 2022-23, but reinforced that control with a genuine desire to take players on. He ranked in the top 6% of centre-backs in Europe’s top five leagues for successful take-on’s, with only Kyle Walker completing more dribbles or successful attacking actions than the Leipzig man.

He then offers incredibly similar ratios and percentages of progressive and forward passes, which will likely only increase at City. Crucially for their style of play, that often manifests in nice diagonal switches of play to the wide areas, where wingers can then take opposition fullbacks on 1v1. That’s something we might see more regularly from City’s new left-back than Nathan Aké, who preferred for his long passes to be over the top in the same wide left channel. Then again, he also offers that same advantage, with an excellent eye for a through pass into space.

Now despite his physical build, Gvardiol is not necessarily known for his goal-scoring or set-piece threat, to the same extent as someone like Aké or Stones. However, that could be another area of his game that grows at City.

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With that, we can expect Gvardiol to only have to make subtle adjustments to his playing style in attack. He perfectly fits the bill as a dominant progressor out from the back, but it will be interesting to see just how aggressive and assertive Guardiola will want the Croatian to be in defense.

DEFENSIVE STYLE OF PLAY

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Perhaps the main reason why Joško Gvardiol has always caught the eye since bursting onto the scene as a teenager – he plays like a warrior. He plays like his life depends on every single 1v1 battle, and every single moment on the pitch. He hates losing those battles, and he thrives in making his presence felt.

But Gvardiol is far from just a battering ram that likes to put his body in the way. In fact, he’s a far more sensible defender, wonderfully assessing his position and adjusting to the moment.

He’s quick on his feet and remarkably physical, but also dominates defensive situations through giving himself an extra yard of space to win situations when he’s called upon to sweep in behind.

But even when he starts from a disadvantaged position, the 21-year-old is remarkably quick at recovering position and stopping counter-attacks.

This is something that is also integral for City’s back-four. It’s something that John Stones, Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji also do to tremendous effect. He has that same recovery pace to help the team swiftly win back the ball, and will benefit from a reserved position on the left where he can cover for others as they carry the ball forward.

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Now the interesting elements will be just how much he’s allowed to go to ground and make his presence felt in that tough-tackling sense. City’s defenders typically prefer to stay on their feet, as evidenced by the fact that Gvardiol made significantly more defensive actions, interceptions, blocks, etc. than any of City’s centre-backs (or Walker) in defensive phases, including when you adjust for possession.

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Even through that approach, he picked up few cards and stayed disciplined. But it’s clear that Gvardiol is a defender that prefers to be active. Again, he made significantly more possession-adjusted slide tackles and interceptions than any City defender by quite some margin. This is something that provides a unique little trinket to his game as a slight separation from the others. Dias wins an insane amount of his duels (76.4%) through prioritizing his physicality, speed and giving the opposition the shoulder. Walker wins a ton of his duels simply by being faster than most, recovering position and then angling the attacker away from goal.

Gvardiol on the other hand will win 1v1 duels in a variety of different ways, with a variety of different body parts – most notably the slide tackles that he never shies away from. As he now enters the fray at City, this is perhaps where I am most interested in seeing his game develop, and where Guardiola chooses to slam down the reigns.

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Either way he’s clearly a combative player that matches the sweeping capabilities of all of their current options, and defends excellently well in transition through his range of physical attributes and positional awareness. This makes him an automatic starter once he gets settled into the team, and that could hold true for several years at the club.

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