Morgan Gibbs-White, Florian Wirtz among the Manchester City options considering the addition of midfielder

Nottingham Field midfielder Forest Morgan Gibbs-White and Florian Wirtz by Bayer Leverkusen are among the options that Manchester City will consider to replace Captain Kevin de Bruyne this summer.

City Playmaker of Bruyne announced last Friday that he was going to leave City at the end of this season after 10 years at the Etihad stadium.

The internal and external solutions should be explored as the city fills the vacuum of the 33-year-old Belgian international, with several candidates, including Gibbs-White and Wirtz, he should appear in the deliberations of the club.

City does not intend to prioritize the transfer objectives until the new director of football Hugo Viana does not take place in its role. Viana replaces Txiki Begiristain and officially started this week, the pair working together for a transition period.

The Portuguese were seen in Old Trafford during the Manchester derby on Sunday and certainly exerts a significant influence on the recruitment works of the city.

Whether City chooses to sign a successor similar to Bruyne or use existing staff like Phil Foden – perhaps strengthen him in a different attack zone instead – is always to be decided.

Gibbs-White has experienced an impressive campaign so far, recording five goals and nine assists in 27 Premier League appearances as Forest Challenge for a place of qualification in the Champions League.

The 25-year-old man, who was contracted until 2027, obtained a first call to the England team in August under the acting head coach Lee Carsley and received his first two caps the following month.

Wirtz, on the other hand, has become one of the most coveted men in European football after a beautiful 2023-24. He won the Bundesliga season player when Leverkusen remained unbeaten in the country, raising his first League title and the DFB-Pokal.

After making his senior debut at 17 in 2020, Wirtz made 191 appearances and accumulated 56 goals and 63 assists. He was crowned 29 times by Germany and was part of the Julian Nagelsmann team at Euro 2024.

Leverkusen values ​​the 21 -year -old at 150 million euros, with Bundesliga Rival Bayern Munich also interested.

Wirtz’s contract expires in 2027 and has not yet agreed with new conditions, although the CEO of Leverkusen, Fernando Carro, said in November that the chances of extension are “very high”.

“A leader and driving force”

Analysis by the Nottingham Forest Paul Taylor correspondent

When Morgan Gibbs-White came out of the bench in the 76th minute of 2-0 victory from England against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin last September, it was a historic moment for the forest-he was the first player of the club since Stuart Pearce in 1997 to shoot a shirt in England.

But it was also symbolic of the personal rise of Gibbs-White.

Great things were expected from him when the club paid initial costs of 25 million pounds sterling – perhaps reaching 42.5 million pounds sterling (now $ 54.2 million) with additional modules – to sign Wolves in August 2022.

The head coach Steve Cooper had worked with the player with the winning England team under 17 and knew that he could become a key figure for the forest.

The replacement of Cooper, Nuno Espirito Santo, had not given Gibbs-White a multitude of opportunities when they worked together at Wolves. But he thought he could evolve in something special.

And he did exactly that in Forest, where he is not only the greatest creative influence on the side, but also a leader and an engine.

Playing like a number 10 or in a more orthodox midfielder’s role, Gibbs-White is able to make things happen. Whether it is the balloon with speed and objective or choose an incisive pass, it has become one of the few players who would leave a massive void, if they had ever left.

Gibbs-White has provided seven assists and five goals for Forest this season, but statistics are not telling the whole story. When the captain of the Ryan Yates club is not on the ground, Gibbs-White has the armband. He gives an example with his energy, his work rate and his fierce desire to win.

It was a key figure in the forest challenge for qualification in the Champions League and Fans of Forest hope to see him lead the team again if they return to the European scene next season.

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“ Wirtz is sensational – and there are still things to do ”

Analysis of the German football writer Sebastian Stafford-Bloor

A sensational player. Wirtz has been so good for two years, that it is probably worth everything that Leverkusen is asking for it. 150 million euros? Pay it.

Wirtz is still 21 years old, which seems strange given how long it has been spent and the fact that, Club and International Football Combined, he played more than 200 senior matches.

But in the past two years, since he has recovered from the knee injury which has cost him a place at the 2022 World Cup, he has become one of the most destructive play leaders in Europe – a brilliant transporter, who can slide before an infallible opponent, but also a no 10 in a more traditional direction, is divided from a range of penetrating passes and penetration.

But look at him out of the ball because this is where one of his real strengths resides. Wirtz works incredibly hard to find and live in space between the lines of an opponent, and – therefore – it is incredibly difficult to prevent it from receiving passes and (by involvement) from influencing games.

There are still things to do. He is a marker of beautiful objectives, rather than a really coherent scorer and is subject to missing chances.

And when the opponents mark it in the midfield, as Bayern Munich did during the Champions League at the end of 16 to first leg, he may have trouble getting out of this kind of attention.

The context is important, however, because a large part of Leverkusen football passes it. In a club with a stronger team, where there are several threats of play, which is unlikely to be such an effective strategy.

In the end, he is the player of the year in defending Bundesliga for a good reason. If he had not been injured against Bayern, he would also have kept this price, and that should describe exactly how rich his form was.

(Top Photo: Oli Scarff / AFP via Getty Images)