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If Pep pulls off this deal, it’ll be two of his most important signings

Manchester City’s fans have seen it all in recent years. Trophies, records, the treble, Guardiola’s beautiful football. But this season, something has felt wrong. The magic hasn’t been there, the team hasn’t clicked the way it used to, and the results have shown it. Now the club is facing a true test of its ambition and identity. They sit fifth in the Premier League table, fifteen points behind Liverpool. It is not the position of champions. It is not what their owners expect after spending so much money to build one of the most talented squads in football history. It is not what Pep Guardiola demands from himself or his players. The pressure has been growing with every disappointing game, every lost point, every limp performance that left fans shaking their heads.

They were busy in the winter transfer window because they had no choice. They needed new players, fresh legs, new ideas. They spent big: Vitor Reis for £30m, Abdukodir Khusanov for £33m, Omar Marmoush for £67m, and Nico Gonzalez for £50m. It was an attempt to patch holes in the squad, to fix the balance, to give Guardiola new weapons.

But even with these new signings, City knows they are not fixed yet. The problems run deeper. The old guard is aging. Kevin De Bruyne, their maestro, has struggled with injuries. Kyle Walker, the veteran right-back who once had unmatched pace, has looked a step slower. Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden have fought to carry the creativity load but need help. Erling Haaland, the goal machine, has at times cut a frustrated figure, starved of service. This isn’t the City that dominated England. This is a team at a crossroads.

So even before the winter window shut, City were already looking to the summer. And now the rumours have burst into the open. According to new reports, Manchester City are planning an incredible £170 million move for two players from the same club: Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong. It is an ambitious plan. Some say outrageous. But it is classic City. When they see a problem, they throw everything at solving it. They don’t do half-measures. Pep Guardiola doesn’t do half-measures. He knows he needs a rebuild to keep City at the top. He knows he has to refresh, evolve, change before others overtake him.

City have “positioned themselves” to have the best chance of signing both players, even though the competition will be fierce. Arsenal, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Paris Saint-Germain are all watching closely. These are clubs with money, with history, with ambition. But City want to get there first, to make their statement that they are still the kings of the transfer market. It’s no mystery why they want these two in particular.

Florian Wirtz is one of the hottest young talents in Europe. Just 21 years old, he is already a superstar in Germany. Under Xabi Alonso at Leverkusen, he has developed into a complete attacking midfielder. He’s fast, technical, intelligent, fearless. This season alone, he has 15 goals and 12 assists in 34 matches across all competitions. That is incredible production for such a young player. He’s the kind of player Guardiola loves. Someone who can see spaces others can’t. Someone who can link midfield to attack, glide past defenders, pick the perfect pass, score goals himself. He is a creator and a finisher in one. He has the vision to make Haaland even more dangerous. He has the dribbling and movement to combine with Foden and Silva.

But he won’t come cheap. Leverkusen know what they have. They know Wirtz is the crown jewel of German football’s next generation. They know Bayern want him. They know Real Madrid want him. They know PSG would pay crazy money for him. So City will have to fight.

But they are ready to fight. They know they need him. They need new blood, new energy, someone who can take over from De Bruyne in the long term, someone who can give Guardiola the creative spark his system needs. Then there is Jeremie Frimpong. For City fans, his name has a special twist. He came through their youth system. He knows the club. He knows Manchester. He knows the expectations. But he left, seeking first-team football, first to Celtic, then to Bayer Leverkusen. There, he has transformed himself into one of the best full-backs in Europe.

Frimpong is electric. He has 28 goals and 43 assists in 175 appearances for Leverkusen, remarkable numbers for a defender. He flies up and down the right flank. He is a constant threat going forward. He has improved his defensive positioning, learned to read the game better. He is exactly the kind of modern full-back Guardiola loves: someone who can invert into midfield, overlap at pace, create overloads, add goals and assists.

City’s right-back position is one of their problem areas. Kyle Walker has been a brilliant servant but is not getting any younger. His pace, once unmatched, is now merely good. Rico Lewis is talented but still learning. John Stones has been used there in Guardiola’s hybrid system but is a centre-back by trade.

Frimpong would solve that. He is ready now. He is entering his prime at 24. He knows the league. He would need no adaptation. He is City DNA with European finishing school polish. That is why City are willing to pay so much. These aren’t just signings. They are solutions. They are statements.

But it won’t be easy. Other clubs want them too. Arsenal are watching Wirtz closely. Mikel Arteta, once Guardiola’s assistant, knows what such a player could do for his side. Liverpool are rebuilding and see both players as perfect for their next cycle. Real Madrid are always in the market for the best young talents. Bayern Munich will hate the idea of losing a German star to an English club and will fight to keep him in the Bundesliga. PSG can outbid anyone if they want.

So City are moving early. They want to get ahead of the bidding wars. They want to convince the players now. Show them the plan. Show them the project. Promise them starring roles. Behind the scenes, City’s recruitment team is working overtime. They’re watching every Wirtz game. Analyzing Frimpong’s heat maps. Talking to agents. Preparing for negotiations with Leverkusen. Guardiola is involved, as he always is. He wants these players. He knows them. He can already see them in his system.

For Wirtz, he sees a new David Silva. A new De Bruyne. Someone who can be the heart of the team for a decade. For Frimpong, he sees a new Dani Alves, someone who can dominate the right flank, terrorize defenses, create chaos. City’s owners are watching too. They want results. They’ve given Guardiola everything he has asked for. Now they want to see the team remain at the top. They don’t want to see Liverpool run away with the league. They don’t want to see Real Madrid knock them out of Europe without a fight

Speaking of Europe, that is another pressure point. City barely scraped into the Champions League top 24. They now face Real Madrid in a brutal two-legged playoff. The stakes couldn’t be higher. Win, and they stay alive for the one trophy Guardiola craves most. Lose, and the season becomes a disaster.

Guardiola knows this. He knows he’s being judged not just on the league but on Europe. He knows City’s owners want that Champions League more than anything. That’s why he wants the signings lined up early. So he can promise the fans and the board that the rebuild is coming, that the future is secure.

But for now, the mood is tense. City fans are not used to being fifth. They’re angry. Frustrated. They’ve been spoiled by success but also trained to expect excellence. They’ve seen Guardiola’s teams at their best, suffocating opponents with beautiful football. Now they see a team that looks tired, confused, a step behind.

The new January signings have given some hope but haven’t transformed the team yet. Marmoush has pace and power but needs time. Reis and Khusanov are for the future. Gonzalez is talented but adapting. Wirtz and Frimpong wouldn’t be for the future. They’d be for now. They’d start immediately. They’d fix problems that have been glaring all season. That is why City are ready to pay £170 million. That is why they don’t blink at the price. They know the cost of standing still is higher.

Leverkusen hold the cards. They know City have money. They know the competition will drive up the price. They’ll make City work for it. But City have done this before. They have lured stars away even when it looked impossible. They convinced Haaland when every club in Europe wanted him. They built a team of winners. Guardiola has even started talking about the need to evolve. In press conferences, he says football changes. Opponents adapt. You have to change too. This is what he means. Wirtz and Frimpong are part of that change.

The pressure on Guardiola is real. There have even been whispers that he might leave if the season collapses. He has been in England a long time now. He has won everything domestically. Some say he’s tired. Others say he’s obsessed with winning the Champions League and won’t leave until he does. Signing Wirtz and Frimpong would show he’s staying. It would show he’s building for another cycle. It would calm fans.

City’s rivals are watching too. They don’t want City to get them. Arsenal don’t want to see Wirtz feeding Haaland every week. Liverpool don’t want to see Frimpong tearing down their left side. Real Madrid don’t want to lose a target to the English. So this is the new battle. Not on the pitch but in the boardroom. In the negotiations. In the agent meetings.

City will be relentless. They always are. But they will have to be smart. The price is high. The competition is fierce. The players have choices. For now, City fans dream. They imagine Wirtz in blue, dancing past defenders, threading passes to Haaland. They imagine Frimpong flying forward, crossing for Foden to volley in. They imagine Guardiola grinning on the sideline, knowing he has new tools to destroy opponents.

But dreams cost money. £170 million, to be precise.And City are ready to pay. Because standing still is not an option. Not for this club. Not for Guardiola. Not when Liverpool are fifteen points ahead. Not when Real Madrid await in the Champions League. Not when critics are whispering that City’s empire is cracking. Wirtz and Frimpong represent the future. They represent hope. They represent the next chapter in City’s quest for total dominance.

So the work begins now. The calls. The negotiations. The promises. The deals. And if City get their way, this summer will be about more than fixing a season. It will be about building the next great Manchester City team. One that no one can stop. And the fans, no matter how angry they are now, know they’ll forgive everything if those two signings arrive. Because that’s football. That’s City. That’s the plan.

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