Will Manchester City end this season by hoisting aloft silverware?
On Saturday, the Sky Blues will compete in a third successive FA Cup Final, this time facing Crystal Palace, firm favourites to win the competition for the eighth time.
ilkay-gundogan-manchester-city-arsenal-transfer-gossip-gabriel-jesus-edu-arteta-guardiola
However, Erling Haaland was insistent this week that victory at Wembley would not constitute a successful season, simply echoing the message given by manager Pep Guardiola following the semi-final victory over Nottingham Forest.
"This season has been tough. It is not nice to lose so many games, it is boring and not fun. That’s why we need to finish well and get a trophy." - Haaland.
So, regardless of the result this weekend, a mass-squad overhaul is required at the Etihad this summer, but could the recently dethroned Premier League champions land not one but two top-class midfielders?
Manchester City is targeting a new midfielder
It's evident that City are hot on the trail of a crop of new central players with the likes of Morgan Gibbs-White and Eberechi Eze linked in recent weeks.
Yet, it's not all about the England internationals as far as Pep and Co are concerned, with a bid now potentially set to be launched for one of the best midfielders in Italy.
Indeed, according to a report by Fabrizio Romano, Manchester City will "submit a formal opening bid" as they attempt to sign midfielder Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan.
tijjani-reijnders
The 26-year-old joined Milan from AZ Alkmaar for a reported €20m (around £17m) two summers ago, and his impressive performances mean that, according to Pete O'Rourke of Football Insider, he is now valued at £50m.
Matt Santangelo from That Milan Podcast described the Dutchman as "fantastic", adding that he's been "Milan’s best midfielder this season", while Luca Bianchin of Gazzetta dello Sport believes he is 'one of the most beautiful players to watch in the world'.
With I Rossoneri down in eighth in Serie A and, following Wednesday night's Coppa Italia defeat to Bologna, it's looking very likely that Milan will not qualify for any European competition at all, so they'll surely be under pressure to sell some key assets, merely adding to the speculation that Reijnders could be on his way to Manchester.
Manchester City's new-look midfield
It's not just Reijnders because, according to a report by Christian Falk and Phillip Arens of Bild, Manchester City have met with Bayer Leverkusen representatives as they aim to sign Florian Wirtz.
This, though, certainly won't be an easy deal to get over the line given that, as reported by David Ornstein of the Athletic, Liverpool and Bayern Munich have also 'made contact' with Wirtz's entourage, while TEAMtalk notes that incoming Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso would love to bring him from the BayArena to the Bernabéu too.
Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz
Patrick Scherer from Kölner Stadt Anzeiger claims that Wirtz is valued at around €100m (around £84m), reflective of the fact that, as noted by Michael Cox of the Athletic, he is 'one of the most sought-after talents in world football', adding that he is a top-class creator and 'brilliant at finding space'.
What is clear is that Wirtz is a world-class talent and, whoever does manage to sign him this summer, will be getting their hands on a genuine difference maker.
Man City dream midfield and attack
What Man City's midfield and attack could look like in 2025/26
But how would Wirtz, Reijnders and the soon-to-be-returning from injury Rodri all fit together?
Well, let's assess their respective statistics to help answer this question.
Wirtz vs Reijnders vs Rodri comparison
Statistics
Appearances
Minutes
Goals
Assists
Shots
Shots on target %
Attempted passes
Pass completion %
Progressive passes
Attempted take-ons
Tackles
Blocks
Interceptions
Ball recoveries
Touches per 90
Statistics courtesy of Transfermarktand FBref.com
As outlined by the table, these three players as a midfield trio would work really well together, complementing each other's strengths.
Rodri is pretty much exceptional at everything, no wonder Man City have missed him so much this season, with the Spaniard's 107 touches per 90 and 4,588 attempted passes particularly eye-catching.
Wirtz meantime, is the creator in chief, one of only six players across Europe's big five leagues to reach double-figures for both goals and assists this season, alongside Mohamed Salah, Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola, Romelu Lukaku and Gaëtan Perrin.
Meantime, the German's 205 attempted take-ons is also pretty noteworthy, ranked second in the Bundesliga this season for this metric.
Lastly, we come to Reijnders, who is something of an all-rounder, scoring a very impressive 15 goals across all competitions this season, actually taking the most shots of the trio, while his 49 interceptions stands out too, suggesting he'd been an excellent Rodri partner.
The Dutchman has racked up over 4,400 minutes for Milan during this campaign, sitting out just one of their 53 matches, and this was due to a suspension, and his availability is certainly a valuable asset so, if Man City are able to assemble these three as a midfield trio, they might just become unstoppable once again.
florian-wirtz-bayer-leverkusen-atletico Related
Florian Wirtz now has representatives in Manchester as Guardiola pushes deal
It's not one they want to miss out on.