Florian Wirtz preference revealed amid Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich transfer battle | OneFootball

Manchester City may not be the frontrunners to sign Florian Wirtz, despite believing that the Germany international is the ideal replacement for Kevin De Bruyne.

Reports earlier this week revealed the belief from within the Premier League champions that recruitment in attacking midfield as part of their squad rebuild will be necessary for the post-Kevin De Bruyne era of the club.

The Belgium international remains at the centre of uncertainty as he closes in on the natural expiry of his existing Manchester City contract, with interest standing from Major League Soccer in the United States and over in Saudi Arabia.

Pep Guardiola is currently managing De Bruyne’s minutes this season in a clear reflection of the decreasing workload that is expected of the 33-year-old, while there are currently no wider talks scheduled between all parties over what the future holds.

From the side of Manchester City, the expectation would be that the club will allow De Bruyne to make a decision on his future in his own time, as a mark of respect for everything the attacking midfielder has done for the club since his arrival in 2015.

Simultaneously, Etihad officials will have one eye on the transfer market and the possible names that could be deemed worthy of filling any space vacated by De Bruyne in the near future.

According to the information of The Sun’s Martin Blackburn, Manchester City are set to go head-to-head with Real Madrid once again this summer, this time in a battle for £85 million-valued attacking midfielder, Florian Wirtz.

However, the report reveals that the 21-year-old is believed to be keen on a switch to the Spanish giants when he does eventually leave his home country, while Bayern Munich could yet offer an opportunity to remain in Germany albeit away from Bayer Leverkusen.

Reports concerning Manchester City and their chase for a new attacking midfielder also coincides with the club bracing themselves for the arrival of Claudio Echeverri into their first-team squad this week.

The Argentine teenager will be finally completing his switch from River Plate having penned a long-term deal with the Premier League champions in January 2024, agreeing to remain on loan at the iconic South American giants for a further year.

For the time being, there is no expectation for the player to immediately challenge for a starting place in Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad, but the coming months will allow for Echeverri to make an impression on the club’s head coach over a decision in the summer.

At that point, Manchester City will decide whether Echeverri has a place in the first-team squad immediately, or whether he could benefit from a loan agreement elsewhere in Europe to aid his transition from the South American game to the European sport.