Manchester City believe Phil Foden can partner £85 million star in post-Kevin De Bruyne era | OneFootball

Officials at Manchester City believe the post-Kevin De Bruyne era at the club could feature Phil Foden partnering one of the game’s finest attacking midfielders.

The latest developments concerning the next phase of the Premier League champions’ ever-developing progress and continuation as a European powerhouse in the game comes after a blockbuster January market.

Manchester City exceeded a spend of €200 million four new faces to bring into Pep Guardiola’s squad with recruitment taking place across all areas of the pitch in two central defenders, a new defensive midfielder, and an attacker spark to bolster the goalscoring ranks.

Abdukodir Khusanov enjoyed a significant improvement against Newcastle following a troublesome debut against Chelsea, while Vitor Reis was thrown into a baptism of fire in the FA Cup fourth round at Leyton Orient.

Nico Gonzalez has impressed onlookers with his outstanding level of performance in his first full 90 minutes against Newcastle, in a game that also saw Omar Marmoush score his first, second, and third goals of his Manchester City career in a staggering hat-trick.

But with the summer window well on the way and plans over the club’s aims being constructed by Txiki Begiristain and Hugo Viana – who is currently enduring a transitional phase ahead of becoming City’s new Sporting Director – it appears as though new names are already emerging.

As doubts continue to loom over the future of Kevin De Bruyne, who is into the final few months of his existing Manchester City contract, attacking midfield is beginning to look like a priority position for the club to address in the immediate markets.

And according to the information of MailSport’s Jack Gaughan, Manchester City have now identified Bayer Leverkusen star and Germany international Florian Wirtz as a transfer target ahead of another round of squad rebuilding.

It is detailed that Wirtz is valued at over £85 million and Bayer Leverkusen understandably want to secure the 21-year-old on a new contract with two years remaining on his existing agreement at the club.

From the side of Manchester City, it is reported that there is an awareness that strengthening in midfield in an era after Kevin De Bruyne is ‘paramount’, while Phil Foden is seen as being capable of partnering Wirtz in a way Jamal Musiala has for Germany.

It remains to be seen just how much Bayer Leverkusen could demand for the midfielder in a market when the player could have recently signed a contract extension with the club, while competition from elsewhere in Europe is only set to drive up his price.

Bayern Munich are understood to be long-term admirers of the Bundesliga star and the player’s love for the German game could prove crucial in any weighing up of options, while Real Madrid are expected to indicate their desire to bring in the midfielder.

The latter’s interest is also expected to be paired with a desire to make Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso the new Santiago Bernabeu manager, should Los Blancos look for a natural changeover from Carlo Ancelotti in the coming seasons.