Manchester City have held talks with Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz representatives ahead of a possible move to the Etihad Stadium this summer.
The Sky Blues have endured a disappointing campaign and suffered their ninth defeat of the Premier League season last weekend—a 1-0 away loss to Nottingham Forest. Despite investing millions in three new faces during the summer transfer window, their fortunes have yet to show signs of a change. Pep Guardiola’s side are now battling to finish in the top four and qualify for next season’s Champions League.
After an underwhelming 2024/25 season, the Etihad Stadium chiefs are expected to spend big to revamp the squad when the transfer window reopens. And they have set their sights on Florian Wirtz, who has been a fantastic performer for Bayer Leverkusen and played a key role in their Bundesliga triumph last season.
Regarded as one of the best playmakers in Europe, Wirtz, 21, has scored 15 goals and got 13 assists in 39 matches in all competitions so far this season and found the back of the net 18 times and registered 20 assists further in 49 appearances in the 2023-24 campaign. The Germany international, who has been on the books of Bayer Leverkusen since 2020, has cemented his status as one of the first names on Xabi Alonso’s team sheet.
Former Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers chief scout Mick Brown has revealed that Manchester City are working behind the scenes to sign Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen. However, they will face competition from Bayern Munich for the youngster’s signature.
“Man City work well in the transfer market with identifying the players they want,” Mick Brown exclusively told Football Insider.
“But they do most of their work behind the scenes and then suddenly the deal is announced. So, in this case, I think they’ve been talking to his representatives behind the scenes and trying to move forward with an agreement. Their recruitment plans at the moment are centred on bringing in young players, like they did in January.
“Wirtz certainly fits in to that, he’s shown in the Champions League that he can perform at the top level. He’s a very talented player, so whether he can produce consistently enough to perform in the Premier League is something Man City will be looking for.
“It’s up to City to put in that same level of due diligence, and I expect they have done that.”
Man City have begun working on a deal to sign Florian Wirtz
Brown says that Man City view Wirtz as the ideal replacement for Kevin de Bruyne.
De Bruyne is a Premier League legend, one of the best players in Europe for more than five years now. However, the Belgian maestro has become injury prone, leading to a massive dip in form over the last two seasons. Plus, he is out of contract at the end of the season.
With De Bruyne set to leave the Etihad Stadium on a free transfer, City want to replace him with the hugely coveted Wirtz ahead of the 2025/26 campaign. Pep Guardiola has done a great job when it comes to nurturing young talents and unlocking their true potential at City, which could be a tempting proposition for the Bayer star to consider. However, the Cityzens will be required to pay around £100million to bag the 21-year-old’s signature amid interest from Bayern Munich.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
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