The Athletic reports that Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz is an option for Manchester City as they look to replace Kevin de Bruyne in the summer.
The former Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg midfielder announced last week that he will leave City at the end of the season. The Premier League side is now looking at internal and external options to replace de Bruyne.
If Leverkusen are to sell Wirtz in the summer, they would demand around €150m, which is something that City could very easily pay. While Bayern Munich, who are also heavily interested in Wirtz, still need to make reductions to even come close to making an offer.
Wirtz is still expected to extend his contract at Levekrusen, which will include a release clause valid from after the World Cup. Interest from City would massively help Leverkusen, not only drive the price up for the 21-year-old star, but it would also mean that they will not have to strengthen a direct rival in Bayern.
For City, the alternatives to Wirtz are Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White, while Phil Foden could also be tested in the number 10 role.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
