Man City ready to spend €200m on Kevin De Bruyne replacement

Man City are ready to have a busy summer transfer window on the back of a poor season, and midfield is one area that will be addressed. Kevin De Bruyne's departure at the end of his contract means that a replacement is needed for Pep Guardiola's squad, and the soon-to-be dethroned Premier League champions are ready to spend very big to get their preferred target.

In recent years, Man City and Barcelona have been involved in several deals – albeit it has mainly seen players heading to Catalonia. Ferran Torres made a big-money move in 2022, while Eric Garcia, Sergio Aguero and Ilkay Gundogan all ran down their contracts in move to join the La Liga giants.

But this summer, there could be a major transfer involving the two clubs that sees Man City make the signing – and the player at the heart of this is Pedri.

According to Fichajes, Man City are prepared to move away from Florian Wirtz in order to better position themselves for a summer move for Pedri, whom they are reportedly willing to spend €200m on.

Man City and Guardiola see Pedri as being the player that can raise the level of the first team's midfield. The 22-year-old has been widely regarded as one of the best performers in Europe this season, having spearheaded Barcelona's change towards a possible treble of La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey.

Pedri only signed a new contract with Barcelona a few months ago, so he has made it clear that he does not see himself moving away from the Catalan capital. And the club themselves are unlikely to be willing to negotiate with anyone, even with their well-documented financial problems – and that is a big issue for Man City.