Kevin De Bruyne’s legendary Manchester City career is coming to an end.
After 10 years and 418 appearances, the Belgian star will leave the Etihad Stadium once his contract expires this summer, with Chicago Fire the most likely destination for De Bruyne to continue his story, although Napoli are also in the mix.
Replacing the Premier League legend will be hard work for Pep Guardiola, but recent weeks have shown that the Spanish coach has a clear target in mind, however, Man City face a tough battle to land their top target.
What is also making things complicated is a family disagreement, as the player’s parents do not have the same idea as the girlfriend of De Bruyne’s potential replacement.
Florian Wirtz’s girlfriend wants Man City move
Florian Wirtz has been Man City’s top target to replace De Bruyne for weeks now, although the Manchester club’s interest in the German talent has been much longer than that.
It was reported this week that Hans-Joachim Wirtz, the father of Wirtz, has advised his son to ignore Manchester City and join Bayern Munich instead.
That information is similar to the latest update from Man City journalist Jack Gaughan, who reports for the Daily Mail that no decision on the 22-year-old’s future has been relayed to City and that they’ve not been given an indication that he is definitely off to Bayern Munich.
| Player | Games | Goals | Assists | Minutes |
| Kevin De Bruyne | 36 | 6 | 8 | 2137 |
| Florian Wirtz | 43 | 16 | 13 | 3212 |
The report states that City are waiting – and have been for a number of weeks – on a resolution to a Wirtz family discussion over his future. The father has close ties with Bayern and is heavily favouring that switch, while the mother is leaning towards another season at Bayer Leverkusen.
The player himself is believed to be more open-minded about his future, and his stance on City is said to have softened in recent months, as that is the preferred destination of his girlfriend.
It remains to be seen what Wirtz decides, and only then will it become clearer who will replace De Bruyne at Man City, as the German star is the only concrete target the Manchester club are believed to have.
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Florian Wirtz is Man City’s only target for the number 10 role
Guardiola is keen to add to his midfield this summer, with Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White another top target for Man City ahead of the upcoming transfer window.
However, when it comes to the number 10 role, the Daily Mail reports that Wirtz is the only concrete target City have to replace De Bruyne at the Etihad, although that might change if they miss out on the German star.
It is being suggested that Guardiola could see what he has to fill the De Bruyne void. Man City fans have called for Jack Grealish to be used as a number 10, while Phil Foden has thrived in the role before.
Omar Marmoush and Oscar Bobb are also options Guardiola could turn to, however, none of this will be decided until the future of Wirtz becomes clearer, as Man City remain hopeful of getting the £101m (€120m) deal over the line ahead of the new season.
