TBR Football can exclusively share the latest around Manchester City’s pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz.
Manchester City have been eyeing the Germany international for a number of months now in wake of his rise to prominence in recent years.
And with Kevin De Bruyne now definitely leaving the Etihad Stadium at the end of the season, City will need to bring in a suitable replacement.
However, City are up against Bayern Munich in pursuit of Wirtz, while Leverkusen are not especially eager to lose their star man.
Manchester City believe Florian Wirtz is edging towards Bayer Leverkusen exit
TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey has confirmed that City and Bayern are both waiting on Wirtz’s decision on his future.
Sources say the belief around the Etihad Stadium and the Allianz Arena is that Wirtz is edging towards a move away from the BayArena this summer.
Although Wirtz now stands to become De Bruyne’s replacement if he joined City, the club wanted him no matter what, even if the Belgian had stayed.
Bayern seem confident on winning the race, and as it stands it seems to be between City, Bayern, or one more year at Leverkusen with a new deal.
TBR Football previously revealed that City received encouragement from Wirtz’s representatives about a potential summer move.
What Florian Wirtz could bring to Manchester City
Replacing De Bruyne will not be easy, but Wirtz seems like a great shout for the role, considering his amazing talent and high ceiling.
At just 21 years of age, Wirtz has already made a name for himself as one of the best midfielders in the game.
He has made 191 competitive appearances for his club, registering 56 goals and 63 assists – a staggering tally for such a young midfielder.
Wirtz has also won 29 caps for Germany, with 13 goal contributions to his name already for his nation.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists | Minutes | |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 191 | 56 | 63 | 13.847′ |
| Germany | 29 | 6 | 7 | 1.551′ |
Wirtz has been compared to Phil Foden by Premier League legend Mark Schwarzer due to being similarly “dynamic”, “elegant” and “unbelievable”.
Meanwhile, former Bayer Leverkusen and Germany striker Patrick Helmes has hailed Wirtz as “probably the best midfielder in the world”, as per Goal.com.
