Manchester City are now determined to sign ‘outstanding’ player who was being linked to Newcastle

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Manchester City are now stepping up their plans to sign Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz who has been scouted by Newcastle United in the summer.

The attacking midfielder has attracted major interest from some of Europe’s top clubs, including Newcastle, after showing incredible form for Leverkusen over the last few years.

A report from 90min now suggests that Man City are preparing to fight both Liverpool and Bayern Munich who are also interested in the 20-year-old.

Newcastle face tough competition for Wirtz

Newcastle have done incredibly well over the last two season to establish themselves as a top Premier League side and compete in the Champions League this season, making sure the rest of Europe takes note.

Despite their great form and incredible financial resources, however, they are not quite at the levels of your Man City’s and Bayern Munich’s of the world who still largely have their pick of the best players.

Newcastle remain interested in Wirtz, but it is unlikely that a deal will be done in January with Leverkusen keen to hold on to their star man until 2025 at least.

Leverkusen had previously put a £78m price tag on the head of Wirtz which should be easily affordable for City, but Newcastle will struggle considering how close they already are to FFP restrictions.

Wirtz is staying in Germany next season

Wirtz’s father, Hans-Joachim, has already revealed to Sky Sports Germany that the young man, who has scored three and assisted five in 13 appearances in the Bundesliga this season, will be staying on in Germany for the 2024/25 campaign.

This will be a huge blow to City, Newcastle and Liverpool, but it does favour Bayern Munich’s pursuit of the attacking midfielder as their offer would see him staying in the country.

That said, the English teams are refusing to step down their interest with Wirtz believed to be a generational talent and someone who you can build the team around given his position on the pitch.

Newcastle may not play with a traditional number 10 in their team, but talents like Wirtz don’t come around often and they’ll want someone who can take their team to the next level.