Manchester City 'identify' perfect Kevin De Bruyne replacement as Hugo Viana task becomes clear

Manchester City 'identify' perfect Kevin De Bruyne replacement as Hugo Viana task becomes clear

Latest Manchester City news and rumours including the latest on the club's hunt for Kevin De Bruyne's replacement after the midfielder announced he will be leaving at the end of the season

Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City confirmed this week he will be leaving the club at the end of the season (Image: Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images )

Manchester City have already identified the perfect replacement for outgoing midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, according to reports this weekend.

The Belgian confirmed in a bombshell statement this week that this will be his final few months at the Etihad, where he has enjoyed 10 successful years. After joining the club from Wolfsburg in 2015, De Bruyne has won everything from Premier League titles to the Champions League.

However, with his contract set to expire at the end of the campaign, the 33-year-old is set to embark on the next chapter of his trophy-laden career. City, on the other hand, have a major rebuild on their hands with De Bruyne just one of a number of ageing players in the squad.

According to The Mirror, Pep Guardiola already knows his ideal replacement for De Bruyne and City are rumoured to be willing to break the bank to sign him. Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz has been identified as the top target and there is a growing belief they can prise him from the 2023/24 Bundesliga champions this summer.

City's new director of football Hugo Viana will reportedly be tasked with landing Guardiola's priority signing and will be armed with the funds to do so.

The Manchester club have previously shown they are prepared to pay significant money for the right player, as they did in parting with over £100m for Jack Grealish's £100m to sign him from Aston Villa in 2021.

Wirtz, 21, is one of Germany's most promising young talents and he was one of the driving forces behind Leverkusen's historic title triumph last year. He joined the club's academy as a youngster and he later became the fourth youngest Bundesliga player when he made his debut just weeks after his 17th birthday.

This season, Wirtz has scored 15 goals and registered 13 assists across all competitions for Leverkusen. However, he has been sidelined since early March with an ankle injury, missing their last three Bundesliga matches and the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Bayern Munich.

Wirtz has two years remaining on his deal with Leverkusen, but City will not be the only club interested in signing him as Bayern have also been heavily linked for a number of years. That said, the report from The Mirror does add that the club would prefer to lose their star man to a club outside of Germany as opposed to a direct rival.

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