Manchester City appear to concede defeat to Real Madrid in race to sign Bayer Leverkusen superstar | OneFootball

Premier League champions Manchester City appear to have succumbed to the fact that they stand little to no chance of recruiting Florian Wirtz in 2025.

Etihad Stadium officials are eyeing up a busy calendar year of transfer business across both the January and summer markets, aware of the fact that Pep Guardiola’s current squad is reaching the end of a cycle across the pitch.

Injury problems and a lack of form has heightened those concerns in the opening half of the season, with Manchester City sitting fourth in the Premier League and 22nd in the revamped UEFA Champions League table.

Kevin De Bruyne’s contractual picture remains unresolved and as things stand, the Belgian would be free to leave the club at the end of the season, whilst it remains unknown what the future beyond the current campaign holds for Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan.

As such, Manchester City are beginning to assess the market for potential options to bring into Pep Guardiola’s midfield – a vital area of the Catalan’s tactical operation, as highlighted by the problems sustained by Rodri and Mateo Kovacic being absent through injury.

According to the information of The Times, while Manchester City are ‘huge admirers’ of Florian Wirtz and would consider him an ‘ideal signing’, they also know that Bayer Leverkusen are unwilling to sell their star man in January.

It is further highlighted there is no guarantee City would be able to attract Wirtz next summer either due to him being of ‘serious interest’ to Real Madrid, and with the 21-year-old’s agency being run by Volker Struth – who has a long history of dealing with Los Blancos, and is Toni Kroos’ agent.

To further add misery to City’s hopes and dreams of signing Wirtz, The Times reports that Real Madrid may end up having another advantage if they replace Carlo Ancelotti with Xabi Alonso in the summer, with the Spaniard having a good relationship with the Germany international.

There had been a feeling in some quarters that the Spanish head coach was being discussed as a potential name that Manchester City could turn to in the summer of 2025 should Pep Guardiola opt to leave the club at the end of his previous agreement.

Ultimately however, the 53-year-old felt now was not the right time to bring an end to his hugely successful career at Manchester City, thus extending his arrangement with the club by a further two-years.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich tactician will as such oversee the next phase of the club’s development, and potentially leave the squad in a strong position for a new coach to come in and succeed him in the Etihad Stadium dugout.