Manchester City have left the race for the signature of Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz according to reports from Fabrizio Romano and the BBC. City who are currently in search of a replacement for outgoing Kevin De Bruyne had shown interest in bringing Wirtz to the Etihad Stadium this summer.
Wirtz’s impressive two seasons with Bayer Leverkusen have attracted interests from top clubs across Europe including Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Manchester City. However, reports from the BBC estimates that the total cost to sign the German midfielder could potentially reach €300 million.
This estimate includes transfer fee to Bayer Leverkusen and wages for the player. Splashing this amount of money on the 22-year-old would break City’s record for the most expensive signing in the club’s history, a move the club has decided against making as they have today pulled out of the race for his signature.
Both reports from the BBC and Fabrizio Romano suggests that Manchester City’s withdrawal from the race to sign Wirtz isn’t the end of the club’s attempt to reinforce their midfield ahead of the next season. Fabrizio Romano reports that City currently have Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White on their shortlist of potential replacement for Kevin De Bruyne.
The 25-year-old Englishman who is currently valued by Nottingham Forest at around £100 million is reportedly being admired by Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola. Gibbs-White has been a top player for Forest this season, scoring 7 goals and providing 8 assists in the Premier League so far.
Pep Guardiola believes Gibbs-White will be a great addition to his City squad with Kevin De Bruyne leaving, players like Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan aging and Phil Foden in inconsistent form this season. Manchester City will battle English rivals, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United as they have all showed interest in signing Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest.
