Bayer Leverkusen are likely to ask Manchester City to include James McAtee in any offer for Florian Wirtz, according to reports.
The Daily Mail claim that the Premier League champions see Wirtz as an ideal target for the summer transfer window.
However, it has been claimed elsewhere that Leverkusen would demand around €150m (£124m) in cash so including McAtee would dramatically reduce the cost of the transfer. Fans on X are, however, split on whether the club should let another of their academy graduates leave:
Perfect deal idc
— OnlyCity🇭🇺 (@mcfcdavid_27) February 24, 2025
Give them grealish instead
— Code Blue (@ClaireMulcahy17) February 24, 2025
I would take this
— TR(fan) (@Deji_mide) February 24, 2025
Bad trade.
Macca is coming good and will grow perfectly with the young team.
— Mason_Do Lindo (@MasonDoLindor) February 24, 2025
I’ll take this
— Emir🇸🇪130 tears🏆🏆🏆🏆 (@FodenCTID) February 24, 2025
Selling Mctee is going to be one of the biggest errors
— Stany (@Stany47) February 24, 2025
Make the deal. That’s a great deal for sure. We can’t keep depending on kdb and foden in that midfield.
— DC Money (@_dcfather442_) February 24, 2025
Guardiola has been reluctant to sell McAtee
Manager Pep Guardiola has said that he told the club to turn down bids for the 22-year-old last summer and it is thought that further approaches were knocked back in January.
However, McAtee is still on the periphery of the starting eleven so his departure could be sanctioned.
City are not the only team after Wirtz
After an excellent season for Leverkusen, the German international is in high demand. The likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Arsenal and Liverpool have also been mentioned as potential suitors.
Even so, City do appear to be the likeliest to push the boat out to secure Wirtz’s signature, especially if Kevin De Bruyne does leave the Etihad when his contract expires at the end of June.
Read our exclusive interview with Shaun Wright-Phillips. He talks about why City should still make the top 4 this season.
