Manchester City are said to be preparing an eye-watering £125 million bid for a new midfielder.
Pep Guardiola wants to bring more new faces to Etihad Stadium in the coming months with rumoured exits suggesting Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Ederson could all be leaving the club this year.
The reigning Premier League champions have just the FA Cup left to win this season after a torrid run of results – but could be about to smash their transfer record, currently held by Jack Grealish.
Manchester City have located their ideal replacement for Kevin De Bruyne
"In that situation, he has to decide, that is the most important thing," said Guardiola earlier this year when asked if De Bruyne would stay at the club. "He's completely honest with himself, to decide what he feels and what he can do in the next period of his life."
It is those coy comments that many believe indicate De Bruyne will leave Manchester City this summer, especially given his slow decline this season. But who comes in to replace him?
Being linked with a move to Manchester City holds a certain weight of expectation, but when it comes to Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz, his talents are already clear for all to see.
TEAMtalk says City have already prepared a whopping £125 million bid for the 21-year-old who is reportedly keen to continue his development by playing more UEFA Champions League football next year.
Wirtz, ranked at no.3 in FourFourTwo's list of the best attacking midfielders in the world right now, began to catch the eye of several clubs with his jaw-dropping displays at Euro 2024 in his home country last year.
Now, with another year of top-level football under his belt in Germany, Wirtz is highly thought of by Manchester City's scouts and is already 'intrigued' at the thought of linking up with the Cityzens this summer.
In FourFourTwo's opinion, Wirtz's future depends on whether manager Xabi Alonso stays with Leverkusen.
The former Liverpool midfielder has been linked with a move to replace Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid and could now feel it is the perfect time to make that jump.
‘Sir Gary Lineker? I don’t know how you comment on that – I’ve never even considered it. I just try to stand up for the things I believe in’ England legend tells FFT why he won’t stop raising humanitarian issues, even if it affects potential honours
'I fell on the floor and shouted for a penalty. Someone pulled me up and said, "Don’t cheat to win penalties". It was Steve McManaman. I never did it again!' Ex-Liverpool forward reveals harsh lesson he learnt from his team-mate on Reds debut
