Pep Guardiola breaks silence on meeting between Florian Wirtz and Manchester City | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has responded to questions revolving around the club’s interest in Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz this week.

Etihad Stadium officials have been intensely linked with a move for the star Germany international throughout the course of the week, with reports in the player’s home country and England revealing a trip from the midfielder to the North-West.

It was suggested that Wirtz, alongside his parents, met with both Manchester City and Liverpool earlier in the week after previous reports seemed to suggest that Bayern Munich were firmly in the driving seat for his signature.

It is known fact that the likes of Hugo Viana and Txiki Begiristain are currently in the process of plotting a recruitment drive for City this summer, as they aim to get Pep Guardiola’s back up to its competitive best following a difficult campaign.

Much of that attention could be focussed on the midfield ranks, in large part due to the struggles of the season coupled with Kevin De Bruyne’s confirmed but pending departure upon the expiry of his contractual agreement with the club.

Speaking ahead of Manchester City’s mammoth FA Cup Final clash with Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium, manager Pep Guardiola was asked about the club’s pursuit of a De Bruyne replacement and particularly interest in Florian Wirtz.

“Now is not the time to talk about that,” Guardiola insisted.

“Before the Final of the FA Cup, I have 24 exceptional players,” the Catalan coach added. “I’m not going to talk one second about the future.”

Guardiola also had a message for Manchester City’s supporters who are making the trip down to Wembley Stadium for the third time this season, with a sell-out crowd expected from both sets of supporters.

“I want to say thank you so much for the effort to come to support us and coming to London,” the 54-year-old said in a direct message of gratitude to the Etihad Stadium faithful.

Crystal Palace and Manchester City have already fulfilled their two Premier League meetings this season with a 2-2 draw played out at Selhurst Park, before Guardiola’s players came from 0-2 behind to win 5-2 at the Etihad Stadium earlier this year.

In the last round of the FA Cup, goals from Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol secured a 0-2 FA Cup semi-final win over Nottingham Forest to book a place in the final against Palace, who themselves defeated Premier League opposition at the last-four stage in Aston Villa.

Following the Cup final, City will have two further ‘finals’ remaining in the Premier League as they host Bournemouth in Kevin De Bruyne’s last home match for the club, before closing the campaign with an away trip to Craven Cottage against Fulham.