Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is said to have asked the club owners for a £200m summer transfer kitty.
The Sky Blues - who look likely to relinquish their Premier League crown this season - enjoyed a sub-par end to 2024 where they won just one game in twelve in all competitions.
Kyle Walker was loaned to AC Milan whilst Guardiola helped bring in four new players as Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Juma Bah all arrived. But City want more come the end of the 2024/25 campaign...
Manchester City preparing to spend £200m on Bundesliga duo this summer
Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan are both out of contract come the summer, so the chance may be there for City to allow the high-earning duo a chance to leave the club.
It remains to be seen whether Guardiola will stick with formidable goalkeeper Ederson too next season, with plenty of questions left to be answered at the Etihad Stadium.
But according to information via Caught Offside, City want £200m to bring Bayer Leverkusen duo Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong to the club. Both players are at a perfect age given Guardiola wants to refresh his squad with young and hungry talent.
Arsenal, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and PSG have also been touted as interested clubs in both players, with Wirtz one of the most impressive players in the Bundesliga at present.
"I don't have a timetable, so I don't even have an idea in my head as far as that's concerned," Wirtz told Kicker when asked about his future back in August 2024.
"I'm just really happy to be back playing football after the summer break. Right now I'm just trying to achieve my goals with the team. Then we'll see what happens at some point - but I don't have a timetable," he added.
Frimpong's situation may be a little different, given the Netherlands international played for Manchester City as a teenager. Although he never made a senior appearance for the Cityzens, the 24-year-old could yet earn a return back to the club where he nurtured many of his skills.
In FourFourTwo's view, Frimpong's move looks the more likely of the two given his previous relationship with English football. A lot will also depend on Xabi Alonso's future, with the Spaniard constantly linked with a job at Real Madrid.
