Manchester City have pulled out of the race to sign Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz this summer.
City had identified the Germany international as the perfect successor to the outgoing Kevin De Bruyne, who is set to walk out at the Etihad Stadium for the final time on Tuesday night.
Club chiefs had held talks with Wirtz’s camp but have withdrawn from the running, with Bayern Munich and Liverpool both keen on the 22-year-old’s signature.
City say that the deal to land Wirtz would be the largest in the club’s history and potentially topping £250million with wages and bonuses.
Leverkusen are losing Jeremie Frimpong to Liverpool, with manager Xabi Alonso taking over at Real Madrid. But Wirtz – with 23 goal contributions this season – is the jewel in the crown.
The attacking midfielder is the latest in a steady line of targets who City have said does not represent value, having previously walked away from deals for Harry Maguire, Alexis Sanchez, Jorginho and Fred – all of whom went to Premier League rivals.
Manchester City have pulled out of the race to sign Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz
With Pep Guardiola’s side out of the race, Liverpool and Bayern Munich have received a boost
City are in the market for midfielders, with Mail Sport revealing last month that they are frontrunners to land Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest.
AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders is a target after a productive goalscoring season in Serie A, scoring 16 times in all competitions.
The news places greater emphasis on Phil Foden, who has long been seen as the one to take over creative responsibilities. Foden has struggled this season with injury and illness after being named PFA Players’ Player of the Year last term.