£90m Man City target has shirt of forgotten ex-Chelsea player on his wall

 Manchester City target Josko Gvardiol has the shirt of a Champions League winning star at Stamford Bridge on his wall – and the story is a surprising one to say the least

Manchester City target Josko Gvardiol has former Chelsea defender Ryan Bertrand’s shirt on his wall.

Gvardiol, 21, is a key target for Pep Guardiola in the upcoming summer as he attempts to add another centre-back to his ranks in the shape of the Croatian star.

The highly-rated defender earned his stripes playing in the World Cup alongside his immense form in the heart of RB Leipzig’s defence, and he could be set to move to the Premier League this summer.

But the superstar in the making, who has been given the nickname ‘Pep’ or ‘Little Pep’ by his teammates due to the similarities between his and the City boss’ surname, oddly has the former Leicester City and Southampton defender’s signed shirt.

Gvardiol has the signed shirt of Bertrand on display alongside a Croatia and Benfica shirt also signed by national teammate Filip Krovinovic.

Bertrand’s place on the wall dates is due to his agent gifting the shirt to Gvardiol as an apology for rejecting to sign him as a client before he hit stardom, a decision Bertrand’s agent must be deeply regretting now.

Whilst Gvardiol’s touted price tag is in the region of at least £75million, Bertrand currently finds himself without a club after he was released by relegated Leicester at the end of his contract.

Despite having his memorabilia on the wall, Bertrand less surprisingly wasn’t the Premier League defender that Gvardiol looked up to, that belongs to Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, who Gvardiol has previously been likened to due to his style of play.

"As a kid, I admired Lionel Messi, but now I am increasingly watching the players in my position. And today Virgil Van Dijk is the best,” Gvardiol previously said.

But unfortunately for Liverpool and Chelsea fans, it seems Bertrand and Van Dijk’s place in his footballing development won’t be enough to sign him, as Pep looks to add the Croat to his treble-winning side.