Man City watch over Florian Wirtz during Bayer Leverkusen's win at Hoffenheim

  • Florian Wirtz scored in Bayer Leverkusen's 3-2 win at Hoffenheim to keep them top of the Bundesliga
  • Man City were present at ProZero Arena to keep an eye on the attacking midfielder
  • Wirtz has long been admired by top bosses at the Etihad Stadium

Wirtz is turning heads
Wirtz is turning heads / Lars Baron/Getty Images
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Manchester City representatives watched over long-term transfer target Florian Wirtz as he scored during Bayer Leverkusen's 3-2 win at Hoffenheim on Saturday, sources have confirmed to 90min.

Bayer Leverkusen, who are managed by former Real Madrid and Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, sit top of the Bundesliga after ten rounds of fixtures having accumulated 28 points, two more than nearest challengers Bayern Munich.

The rise of Alonso's young side has been one of the top footballing stories across Europe so far this season, with their most recent triumph coming at Hoffenheim this weekend.

Wirtz opened the scoring from close range after being played through by in-form striker Victor Boniface, before Alex Grimaldo added to the lead from a corner. A quick-fire double from Anton Stach and Wout Weghorst pulled Hoffenheim level just after half-time, only for Grimaldo to grab a 70th-minute winner.


Alex Grimaldo
Wirtz was on the scoresheet on Saturday / Markus Gilliar/GettyImages

90min understands that officials from Man City were present at the PreZero Arena, with the primary reason behind their visit believed to be regarding versatile attacking midfielder Wirtz, whose progress they have monitored for several years.

The 20-year-old has been one of the stars of Bayer Leverkusen's season so far having steadily returned from an ACL injury during the second half of last term. He's already registered six goals and nine assists in 15 games across all competitions so far this campaign.

In addition to Wirtz, 90min understands that central midfielder Exequiel Palacios is a player that Man City have been keeping a watchful eye over and have been impressed by in recent months. The Argentina international has formed a fruitful partnership alongside former Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka this season.

Man City were not the only club present in south-western Germany on Saturday, with sources confirming to 90min that representatives from Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain were also in attendance.


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