Manchester City have identified Florian Wirtz as the talent to replace Kevin De Bruyne, and the English are prepared to pay £100m to sign the Bayer Leverkusen starlet. New sporting director Hugo Viana will be in charge of negotiating the transfer and will have enough money at his disposal to tempt Leverkusen to let go of Wirtz. City have shown a willingness to invest heavily in the past, such as when they met Jack Grealish's £100m release clause at Aston Villa nearly five years ago. Now, their target is to bring in Florian Wirtz, 21, who would receive a significant increase from his current £73-a-week wages.
The move is part of Manchester City's efforts to rebuild Guardiola's squad, having spent over £170m on three new players during the winter transfer window. The decision not to re-sign De Bruyne was made to focus funds and resources on signing players who could offer new prospects. Wirtz has become a key target as City believe he can bring a change to midfield and attack.
Florian Wirtz's contract with Leverkusen has two years remaining, but the Bundesliga club want to convince him to sign a renewal until 2028. In this regard, his advisors are demanding an £85m release clause, which would be activated after the World Cup, while Leverkusen prefer a rate above £125m.
City believe that the team under Xabi Alonso would prefer their star player to leave the Bundesliga to seek new challenges. Despite the challenges that Florian Wirtz's departure from Germany at the start of the season could bring, Guardiola's identification of him to replace a Premier League legend is a decisive factor. If it goes through, the transfer would be a strategic step in rebuilding Manchester City's squad.
