Man City line up £170m spree for two Bundesliga superstars as Guardiola plans for De Bruyne exit

Harry Watkinson 09 Feb 2025 1:11 PM

Man City are interested in Bayer Leverkusen duo Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong

Manchester City are reportedly set to launch moves for Bayer Leverkusen duo Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong in a summer swoop that’ll cost around £170million.

The Premier League champions were Europe’s biggest spenders in January after splashing out around £180m on Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov and others.

Pep Guardiola retains the full backing of the Man City board despite the club’s poor form this season and another huge transfer window is on the horizon, despite having 115 alleged breaches of the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) hanging over them.

According to CaughtOffside, Man City have ‘positioned themselves to have the best chance of signing Bayer Leverkusen duo, Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong, for close to €200m (£166.6m, $206.7m) in the summer transfer window.’

The report adds that ‘Arsenal, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and PSG are all also looking to revitalise their squads before the start of the 25/26 campaign, so it isn’t a foregone conclusion that City will get things all their own way.’

Wirtz, 21, is considered to be one of the best young attacking midfielders in Europe and right wing-back Frimpong has been tracked by multiple top sides in recent months.

Leverkusen are very reluctant to lose either player but would have to consider big-money bids for the duo.

Man City could replace De Bruyne with Wirtz – sources

TEAMtalk transfer insider Fraser Fletcher revealed Man City’s interest in Wirtz in October last year, while noting that Bayern Munich superstar Jamal Musiala is also on their shortlist.

Pep Guardiola’s side are planning for life without Kevin de Bruyne, 33, who is out of contract in the summer, and have therefore written up a shortlist of attacking midfield targets.

Guardiola is understood to be a big admirer of Wirtz, who has made 186 appearances already for Leverkusen, notching a very impressive 56 goals and 62 assists in the process.

The youngster has already chalked up 29 caps for Germany, too, and was very impressive at the European Championships last year.

Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are also believed to be very interested in Wirtz so they, among others, could compete with Man City for the youngster’s signature.

As for Frimpong, the 24-year-old has been on Man City’s radar for some time and after the departure of Kyle Walker, 34, could be a top target for this summer.

Frimpong initially came through Man City’s academy, before they sold him to Celtic for just £350,000 in 2019.

Guardiola’s side are now considering bringing Frimpong back to the Etihad after he has developed into one of the most potent wing-backs in European football.

Frimpong has made 175 appearances to date for Leverkusen, notching 28 goals and 43 assists in the process. Liverpool are also reportedly interested in him, as they eye replacements for potential departee Trent Alexander-Arnold.

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