Manchester City add RB Leipzig star on to recruitment list to replace Kevin De Bruyne | OneFootball

Officials at the Etihad Stadium have reportedly added a new name onto the list of potential successors to Kevin De Bruyne at Manchester City ahead of the summer.

The Belgian attacking midfielder announced earlier this month that after not seeing a contract renewal offer put to him by the club, the ongoing campaign would be his final season as a Manchester City player.

Pep Guardiola revealed in a subsequent press conference that the decision was agreed upon by those at the club, as opposed to the lead being taken by De Bruyne himself on his own future, with the 33-year-old now set to field offers from across the globe for his services.

Manchester City will also move into the transfer market themselves as they eye possible replacements for arguably their greatest-ever player, with Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz believed to be the leading candidate for the role.

However, there is an acceptance that a deal for the 21-year-old Germany international will be very difficult to complete financially, and due to the competition for the player’s signature in the coming weeks.

As such, it appears as though Manchester City may be lining up possible alternatives to Wirtz, one of which also currently stars in German football and has met the four-in-a-row Premier League champions on numerous occasions.

Speaking on the latest edition of The Transfers Podcast, market insider Duncan Castles offered in-depth insight into the situation surrounding RB Leipzig and the Netherlands’ Xavi Simons and the widespread interest that could emerge for the player this summer.

“My guidance is that Manchester City have him on a potential recruitment list to replace Kevin De Bruyne – who announced last week that he would be leaving Manchester City at the end of his contract,” Castles revealed.

“Manchester United are also very interested in Simons, but their problem is an obvious one in that they don’t have much money to play with, certainly not the kind of money that Leipzig are looking at as a sell fee.

“So (they) will need to win the Europa League and qualify for the Champions League to be able to afford such a deal. But he’s on a list of players that they’re looking at.”

Castles went on to explain, “Bayern Munich have a long-standing interest in Simons, in fact were looking at the player last summer.

“And Simons would be interested in going to Bayern Munich, and I think he’s trying to find out whether Bayern Munich are ready to move for him again this coming summer.

“And I’m also told that Liverpool have asked questions about the player.”

For now it remains to be seen just where Simons would rank on a list of priority targets for Manchester City this summer, not only in the attacking midfield role but in the market as a whole for Hugo Viana.

The Portuguese sporting director is set to take on the role full-time at the Etihad Stadium this summer, and is expected to address a number of positions across Pep Guardiola’s squad including goalkeeper, full-back, and central midfield.