Chelsea will “probably make an attempt” to sign RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol during the January transfer window, according to Sky Sport Italia journalist Gianluca Di Marzio.

The 6ft 1 centre-back has had an excellent World Cup for Croatia and Di Marzio believes the player’s asking price will have “skyrocketed” as a result of his displays out in Qatar:

“His transfer value has skyrocketed due to his performance in the World Cup. Chelsea will probably make an attempt in January.”

Over the past week, reports in France have also linked Manchester City and Manchester United with bids for Gvardiol but Di Marzio believes that Real Madrid are likely to be the Blues’ main rivals for the player.

The La Liga champions haven’t been mentioned as major players in the battle for the 20-year-old’s signature up until now but it seems they could table an offer of their own.

Gvardiol certainly won’t be available on the cheap. He only signed a new contract back in September and that was after Chelsea reportedly had a €90m (£78.5m) offer rejected for the centre-half.