Manchester City appear to have set their sights on the Bundesliga in their search for a new midfielder, with Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Larsson on their list.
That’s according to SportBILD, who cover Manchester City’s interest in both players in their transfer special today.
Wirtz is the big target for the summer, according to the newspaper, who report that Pep Guardiola ‘wants to get him straight away’.
They state that the Manchester City boss is a huge fan of the midfielder and sees him as his dream player. In fact, he wants to completely reorganise his team and build his offence around the German.
He wanted him the January transfer window but neither Leverkusen nor Wirtz were interested in doing a deal. That has not deterred Guardiola, nor has the fact that Wirtz is about to extend his contract. He sees him as the ideal replacement for Kevin de Bruyne.
The plan is to rejuvenate the current Manchester City squad for the next four or five years and Wirtz fits into that plan perfectly.
Much will depend on that new contract. Leverkusen want Wirtz to extend until 2028 and add an exit clause for 2026 worth €125m. But if the midfielder doesn’t sign that in the coming months they will push for a sale this summer for at least €150m. They want to avoid being pressured into a sale at any point.
Manchester City will face competition, though, a Real Madrid are also keen and see Wirtz as the successor to Luka Modric. In fact, he could move to the Bernabeu alongside Xabi Alonso.
He’s not the only Bundesliga midfielder on Manchester City’s list, with Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Larsson also a target.
SportBILD report that ‘all top clubs’ want the 20-year-old and Manchester City are one of them. They’re the latest to join the queue alongside Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool as well as AC Milan and Real Madrid.
The belief is that if he continues his development at such a rapid pace, his running strength and dynamism would fit in well with Pep Guardiola’s style and system.
Frankfurt are open to a sale and see Larsson as their next big sale, they’re willing to talk for a sum of €50m or more. They’re prefer to delay that until 2026, believing that Larsson needs another year to get over injury issues and up to competitive strength.
Manchester City’s desire to rebuild could scupper that, though, and Larsson is on their list alongside Wirtz.
