Man City pull plug on Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz

Manchester City have decided to pull the plug on signing Bayer Leverkusen star midfielder Florian Wirtz due to the expensive nature of the proposed deal.

City, who were reported to be interested in luring the German midfielder from Leverkusen to England, are now believed to have cooled their interest in the youngster.

According to BBC Sports, Pep Guardiola’s side are withdrawing the initial interest in the 22-year-old, with reasons being the rising cost of the deal.

In addition to that report, it is revealed that any agreement to bring the German international to the Etihad would represent the largest transfer in City’s history, with potential costs reaching as much as €300 million, including transfer fees and wages.

Despite the high fees attached to Wirtz’s potential transfer to England, there is no doubt about the attacking midfielder’s potential.

Wirtz, who has two years left on his contract with Leverkusen helped the club win the Bundesliga title last season

He is acknowledged as one of the leading young talents in European football and has been linked with other European giants like Bayern Munich and Liverpool. However, City’s concern is that the cost of the deal is over-inflated.

City are known to be shrewd but quick in closing deals when they are convinced about every detail of their moves, but are also not shy to walk away from transfers if they believe a deal does not represent value for money.

Similar to the reported withdrawal by City, Guardiola’s side were reported to have fallen short of signing Fred, Jorginho and Frenkie de Jong because of cost-related issues, before signing current Ballon d’Or winner Rodri in 2019.

The same was repeated when they cooled their interest in the former Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane because of the size of the transfer fee before landing Erling Haaland for £51.2m in 2022.

City repeated this in 2020 when they signed Ruben Dias after previously walking away from deals for Harry Maguire and Kalidou Koulibaly.

Guardiola’s side are said to be on the hunt for a replacement for departing captain Kevin De Bruyne, but could eventually stick with Phil Foden, who could play a pivotal role in Pep’s rebuilding for next season.

Foden has long been seen as the long-term heir to outgoing De Bruyne, and the addition of Wirtz may continue to hinder the Englishman’s progress in Guardiola’s plans.

That said, Wirtz is not expected to move from Leverkusen to the Etihad. City will remain in the market for a new creative midfielder, with Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White set to make a summer move.