Manchester City Ready to Offer Two Players for Wirtz

Manchester City's new agreement with Pep Guardiola involves a deal with two players to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer.

Reports suggest that Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has supposedly agreed to offload two players, considered 'dispensable', to secure a deal for Florian Wirtz. The reigning Premier League champions are experiencing a mini-crisis, having won only one of their last nine matches across all competitions and sitting 19th in the form table. Guardiola recently penned a contract extension and faces a significant challenge as a major rebuild is necessary at the club.

One of his priorities is finding a replacement for Kevin De Bruyne, who ranks among the twenty top footballers that could become free agents in 2025. De Bruyne is recognized as one of the world's premier midfielders but has been affected by injuries in recent seasons. Wirtz has been touted as a potential successor, having shone for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.

The 21-year-old Wirtz is seen as one of the best young talents worldwide. This season, he's scored ten goals and provided five assists in 23 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen. A Spanish report claims Bayer Leverkusen has set an 'incredible asking price' of 130 million euros due to interest from Manchester City, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain. Wirtz is viewed as the 'big favorite' to replace De Bruyne, who has 'received very attractive offers' from the Saudi Pro League.

Guardiola is reportedly 'insisting on signing Wirtz' and agreed to include two players as part of a cash-plus-player deal, with Oscar Bobb and James McAtee possibly leaving. City aims to get a head start on the auction and persuade Wirtz, having already commenced talks. They are also attempting to 'land the player at a lower cost', intending to include two players who hold secondary roles under Guardiola, and are therefore entirely expendable.

Regarding City's proposed 'offer' for Wirtz, the report mentions Oscar Bobb and James McAtee, two significant talents emerging from the youth ranks. The intense competition in the offensive area has left them without playing time, and in Manchester, they are willing to part with them to bring in Wirtz. By including Bobb and McAtee in the deal for Wirtz, City hopes Bayer will agree to a significant discount, reducing their demands from 130 million to 80 million euros. This could be one of the first bombshell moves of 2025.