Furious Man City transfer battle ignites with spectacular De Bruyne heir made No 1 target

Kevin De Bruyne announced that he will be leaving Manchester City last week and Pep Guardiola’s side have already identified the perfect player to replace him and with sources confirming to TEAMtalk the club will need to shell out the second-largest fee in their history to seal a deal.

De Bruyne, 33, has played an instrumental role in the Citizen’s success in recent years, but with his contract expiring this summer the club have already begun looking at potential successors.

Man City are willing to part ways with several senior players this summer to make way for a new generation of superstars, and De Bruyne is set to depart for a new challenge elsewhere in the twilight of his career.

As previously reported, Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz is loved by Man City and viewed as a player who can become one of the world’s best in the future.

Wirtz, 21, is one of Leverkusen’s most important players and has notched an impressive 15 goals and 13 assists across all competitions this season, capturing the attention of several elite sides.

Sources have described City as being ‘very keen’ to sign Wirtz this summer but he’ll be an expensive signing and they face huge competition for the attacking midfielder.

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Man City WILLING to pay Florian Wirtz’s mammoth price tag

Bayern Munich are Man City’s fiercest rivals in the race for Wirtz as things stand. Vincent Kompany’s side have done a lot of work to keep him in the Bundesliga, as they want him to play alongside Jamal Musiala at the Allianz Arena.

Musiala and Wirtz already have a strong relationship, given they’re a similar age and have played together for Germany on many occasions, at youth and senior leve;.

TEAMtalk understands that Leverkusen will demand £87m for Wirtz this summer, but they are also keen to tie him down to a new contract and prevent him leaving, although a new deal remains unsigned at this stage.

Sources state that Man City are ‘more than happy’ to pay £87m to sign Wirtz and there are no issues expected when it comes to his wage demands.

Such a fee would sit second on the club’s most expensive ever signings list, behind the £100m spent for Jack Grealish and ahead of the £85m package that prised Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig.

Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal have looked at Wirtz as a potential option previously but they have not made any major moves to sign him yet.

Real Madrid have also kept tabs on Wirtz but they have cooled their interest in recent months, with Man City and Bayern the two sides battling most to sign the supremely talented youngster.

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IN FOCUS: Florian Wirtz’s achievements so far

By Samuel Bannister

Wirtz has recorded some impressive achievements by the age of 21 – becoming the youngest Bundesliga scorer when he got his first goal for Bayer Leverkusen, for example, although he has since been surpassed – but his recent record has shown he could be ready for the next step.

So far, he can boast that he:

Was named the Europa League Young Player of the Season two years in a row (2022/23 and 2023/24).

Helped Bayer Leverkusen win their first ever Bundesliga in 2023-24 and was named the league’s Player of the Season.

Has been named the Bundesliga Player of the Month six times, including in two consecutive months this season.

Currently stands joint-top of the assists chart for the 2024-25 Bundesliga, after being joint-second in that ranking last season.

Scored six goals in the Champions League this season, despite it being his first at that level – and was remarkably named man of the match in five of his first nine UCL appearances.

Has scored double figures of goals in both of the past two seasons, with his career high being 18.

Was the only player from Europe’s top five leagues to score 16+ goals and provide 16+ assists in all competitions last season.

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