Manchester City star predicted to become ‘the best in the world’ in his position | OneFootball

Former Manchester City sporting director Txiki Begiristain has tipped Josko Gvardiol to become the very best in his position in future.

Begiristain has been the lynchpin of Manchester City’s shrewd recruitment in the transfer market since assuming the role of sporting director in 2012, since when the club have won seven Premier League titles amongst a plethora of silverware.

In particular, the acquisition of Pep Guardiola to replace Manuel Pellegrini ranks high among Begiristain’s list of achievements, with the now departed Spaniard having worked with the Manchester City manager at Barcelona.

Begiristain has handed over director of football responsibilities to Hugo Viana this summer, with Manchester City undergoing a summer of revolution marked by a series of new arrivals and high-profile departures as well as loans – in the backdrop of a wide feeling that change was needed at the club after a disappointing 2024-25 campaign.

Key senior players such as Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish (loan, Everton) and Manuel Akanji (loan, Inter Milan) have all left the club this summer, with the likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri and James Trafford brought in.

Manchester City’s defensive frailties – a fundamental reason for their struggles last season – have been exposed in recent Premier League defeats against Brighton and Tottenham, with many wondering if the club failed to address the area of their squad that most desperately needed investment after the recent season.

City’s centre-half struggles were evident last term as Guardiola turned to the board to sanction emergency deals for Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis (on loan at Girona for the 2025-26 season) when his hands were tied owing to a personnel crisis in central defence amidst a difficult run of form for his side.

Nathan Ake, John Stones, Ruben Dias and Akanji all spent time on the sidelines last season, with Manchester City’s defence frequently exposed by teams and their backline losing an aura of invincibility that was the fulcrum of their historic treble-winning 2022-23 campaign.

However, Josko Gvardiol was ever-present for Manchester City and Guardiola over the course of their topsy-turvy, sobering period last fall, with the Blues effectively dropping out of the Premier League title race and going on their worst run of form in nearly two decades.

Gvardiol’s availability throughout the 2024-25 season – much like that of new club captain Bernardo Silva – was publicly appreciated by Guardiola, who remembers those have been in the trenches with him during troubling spells of form – especially for a group as accustomed to winning as the various squads Guardiola has assembled at the Etihad Stadium.

Speaking in Manchester City’s in-house production documentary ‘A Farewell to Txiki’, Begiristain himself spoke glowingly about the future prospects of Gvardiol and how the Croatia international has the attributes to become the very best.

“Josko (Gvardiol), he’s going to be the best left central defender in the world,” Begiristain admitted while reflecting on some of his signings at Manchester City over the years.