Florian Wirtz has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester City and he seems like the perfect candidate to step into Kevin De Bruyne’s shoes next season.
Wirtz likes the idea of joining Manchester City as well.
However, Wirtz could either join Manchester City or Bayern Munich with staying at Bayer Leverkusen still being a viable career option for him as well. Bayern are willing to go into debt to sign Wirtz — which signals how much they intend to sign the German.
But the question worth asking is whether Manchester City should put all their eggs in one basket by trying to sign Florian Wirtz or moving for alternative targets such as Xavi Simons.
Xavi Simons should be Man City’s Florian Wirtz transfer alternative
Simons could well depart RB Leipzig in the summer, according to journalist Philipp Hinze and the Bundesliga club will demand €80 million (£69.1 million) for his services — a fee that Manchester City would perhaps even be willing to pay to sign Wirtz.
A close look at Simons’ profile so far suggests Manchester City should bring him in to replace De Bruyne, as one could argue that he is more complete than Wirtz.
While the Belgian maestro is the type of player that is irreplaceable, the Dutchman, unlike the Bayer Leverkusen technician is similarly capable of playing of running riot as both a traditional number 10 and from deeper areas.
A look at Simons’ stats in comparison to Wirtz during their spells in Germany is an eye-opener as well, considering Manchester City would potentially be bringing an incredibly productive player who has largely played in a worse team.
| STAT COMPARISON: LAST TWO SEASONS | FLORIAN WIRTZ | XAVI SIMONS |
| GOALS | 33 | 20 |
| ASSISTS | 30 | 21 |
The latter’s numbers are superior and he is undoubtedly a more established player but Simons has managed to registered just 12 less goal contributions (Simons, 41, Wirtz, 53) in his last two seasons despite playing in a RB Leipzig side that cannot even be mentioned in the same breadth as Leverkusen.
Judging by watching the pair, it is clear to see that both players can score and create goals for fun. But where Simons has the edge on Wirtz from a Manchester City standpoint is that he is far from athletic, capable of defending in a double pivot and win duels — a trait that is worth its weight in gold as the rest of their creative midfielders such as Phil Foden, Oscar Bobb and James McAtee are unable to do.
Alan Shearer pinpointed Manchester City’s declining athleticism as a major reason behind their downfall and Simons’ superior engine and versatility make him perhaps a more well-rounded player for Manchester City to sign over Wirtz.
Where the former Paris Saint-Germain maverick is similar to De Bruyne, apart from his athleticism and tactical malleability is that he is a better carrier of the ball than the Bundesliga winner, who is much more of a dribbler over the La Masia graduate — a trait that is one of the 33-year-old’s standout features.
How Manchester City’s XI would look if they signed Xavi Simons
However, Wirtz is a remarkably gifted midfielder himself and regardless of whether Manchester City sign him or Simons, they would have done a brilliant job in at least trying to find a successor to De Bruyne’s throne.
But if Simons does head to the Etihad Stadium, how Pep Guardiola would fit him into the side would become a major talking point amongst the fanbase. One way of doing so would be by deploying the 21-year-old as a traditional attacking midfielder, with Nico Gonzalez and Rodri in a midfield three.
An alternative could be pairing Simons up with Rodri, with Phil Foden, Oscar Bobb or Omar Marmoush playing behind Erling Haaland.
