Pep Guardiola to go all out for €150m star in the summer as he identifies his dream Kevin De Bruyne replacement

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is reportedly ready to launch a massive bid for a top rated European star who could replace Kevin de Bruyne.

Since joining from German side Wolfsburg in the summer of 2015, De Bruyne has established himself as one of the best midfielders to have played in the Premier League.

The Belgian has won every trophy available to him with in England, including six Premier League titles, the Champions League and the Club World Cup.

However, with just four months left on his current City deal, Guardiola must now consider who could replace De Bruyne's place in the squad, and he's got one huge name in mind.

With injuries continuing to limit the amount of minutes that De Bruyne can play throughout a full season, it appears almost certain that City will decide against extending his deal in the summer.

The 33-year-old will leave a huge hole in the City squad given his importance in recent years, and a new report has claimed that Guardiola hopes to fill it with the statement signing of midfielder superstar Florian Wirtz.

After enjoying a breakout season for Bayer Leverkusen, followed by standout performances for Germany at Euro 2024, Wirtz has established himself as one of the most exciting talents in Europe.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Sport Bild have revealed that the City boss sees the 21-year-old as the perfect long-term replacement for De Bruyne once he leaves later this year.

The report claims that Guardiola had hoped that Wirtz could have joined the Premier League champions in the recent winter transfer window, but Beyer Leverkusen assured them that a move mid-season would not be possible.

Florian Wirtz has scored nine goals and assisted 10 in 21 Bundesliga appearances this season. (Image: Getty)

City will instead have to wait until the summer before they can launch a bid for Wirtz, but he won't come cheap as Leverkusen are reportedly expecting a fee of around €150million (£125m), if they were to part ways with the young star this summer.

However, City will not be unopposed in their hopes to secure Wirtz's signature as Leverkusen are also reportedly hoping to tie him down to a new, much improved contract ahead of his current deal expiring in June 2027.

The new contract proposed to Wirtz will instead run to 2028 and feature a release clause of around €125m (£104m) that would become active in the summer of 2026.

To tempt Wirtz to extend his stay with the Bundesliga champions,

Additionally, his salary is expected to increase from €8 million (£6.6m) per year to over €10 million (£8.34m).