According to reports, Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola has ‘agreed’ to offload two ‘dispensable’ stars in a deal to sign Florian Wirtz.
The Premier League holders are going through a mini-crisis as they have won just one of their past nine games across all competitions and are 19th in the form table.
Guardiola recently penned a contract extension and has a huge job as a big rebuild is required at Man City.
One of his priorities could be to replace Kevin De Bruyne, who is among the 20 best footballers who could become a free agent in 2025.
De Bruyne has been regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world, though he has been impacted by injuries in recent seasons.
The 33-year-old will be difficult to replace, but Wirtz has been mooted as a potential successor as he has sparkled for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.
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The 21-year-old is regarded as one of the best young footballers in the world. This season, he has ten goals and five assists in his 23 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen.
A report in Spain claims Bayer Leverkusen have ‘set an incredible asking price’ as they want 130 million euros amid interest from Man City, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.
Wirtz is deemed the ‘big favourite’ to replace De Bruyne, who has ‘received some very attractive offers’ from the Saudi Pro League.
Head coach Guardiola is said to be ‘insisting on signing Wirtz’ and has ‘agreed to include two players’ in a cash-plus-player deal as Oscar Bobb and James McAtee could leave.
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Man City reportedly ‘hope to get a head start on the auction and convince Wirtz as they have already started talks.
They are also trying to ‘land the player at a lower cost’ and ‘intend to include in the deal two players who have a clearly secondary role for Guardiola, and who are therefore completely dispensable’.
Regarding Man City’s intended ‘offer’ for Wirtz, the report adds.
‘This is the case of Oscar Bobb and James McAtee, who are two of the great talents that have come through the lower categories.
‘The incredible competition in the offensive area has caused them to be left without the opportunity to get minutes, and in Manchester they are willing to do without them to bring in Wirtz.
‘By including Bobb and McAtee in the deal for Wirtz, City hope Leverkusen will agree to a significant discount, lowering their demands from £130m to £80m. It could be one of the first bombshells of 2025.’
