Manchester City have reignited their interest in Bayer Leverkusen wonderkid Florian Wirtz, 90min understands.

Wirtz is widely regarded as one of European football’s brightest prospects, and is back in the German national team fold after recovering from a serious knee ligament injury which sidelined him for nine months and deprived him of a place at the 2022 World Cup.

The 19-year-old has long been on City’s radar, and sources have confirmed to 90min that the club are again taking a real interest in his progress.

City are not alone in their admiration of the player, with Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle known to have watched him, and Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund also in the running.

The strongest links, however, have seen Wirtz mentioned in dispatches with Barcelona, and he spoke of the Catalan giants’ rumoured interest after joining up with Germany ahead of the upcoming international break.

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“I haven’t heard anything from my father about Barcelona,” Wirtz said. “I only read it and was surprised. I want to focus on Leverkusen and be successful. I’m not looking into the future now,” he said.

Despite the links, German sources have told 90min that Leverkusen do not envisage Wirtz, who is under contract until 2027, leaving this summer, although their stance may alter if they are unable to climb up the Bundesliga table and receive a sizeable offer.

One major reason that Leverkusen believe will convince Wirtz to stay is making sure he’s part of Hansi Flick’s squad for next summer’s Euro 2024, which is being hosted in Germany.

“I would like to be there [the Euros], to play a good tournament and, above all, to inspire the people in Germany again,” Wirtz added to the assembled media.

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On this edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders, Graeme Bailey & Toby Cudworth discuss the race to sign Jude Bellingham, Antonio Conte’s Tottenham future, Roy Hodgson’s return to Crystal Palace, Erling Haaland’s contract, Mason Mount & more!

If you can’t see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!

90min rounds up the latest transfer news, rumours and gossip circulating around the world…

Liverpool and Manchester United have moved ahead of Barcelona in the race to sign Ruben Neves from Wolves this summer. (Football Insider)

With the signing of Jude Bellingham now unlikely, Liverpool could also turn to Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch for midfield reinforcement. (The Athletic)

Napoli have slapped a €150m price tag on star striker Victor Osimhen amid interest from Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United. (Il Mattino)

PSG have now also thrown their hat into the ring to sign Osimhen at the end of the season. (Foot Mercato)

Declan Rice is ‘super appreciated’ by the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea, with the midfielder expected to leave West Ham this summer. (Fabrizio Romano)

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In terms of outgoings at Chelsea, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could return to Barcelona this summer just 12 months after leaving Camp Nou. (Mundo Deportivo)

Aubameyang is not the only player who may find themselves back in Catalonia, with Tottenham unlikely to make a permanent offer to sign Clement Lenglet from Barcelona at the end of his loan deal. (AS)

Real Madrid are interested in signing Kai Havertz from Chelsea, but it would take an offer of around €80m for the Blues to be tempted into a sale. (Fichajes)

West Ham are ready to battle Manchester United for the signing of France defender Axel Disasi. His current club, Monaco, are believed to be holding out for a fee of £44m. (Daily Mail)

Celta Vigo midfielder Gabri Veiga would rather join Real Madrid than the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United. (Radio Estadio Noche)

LISTEN NOW

On this edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders, Graeme Bailey & Toby Cudworth discuss the race to sign Jude Bellingham, Antonio Conte’s Tottenham future, Roy Hodgson’s return to Crystal Palace, Erling Haaland’s contract, Mason Mount & more!

If you can’t see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!

Lea Schuller scored the sole goal for Bayern Munich in their 1-0 victory over Arsenal in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final at the Allianz Arena.

It was an even match-up in the opening minutes, with both sides having chances. There was an early penalty shout for Arsenal in the 8th minute after the ball hit Glodis Perla Viggosdottir’s arm but VAR deemed it to be in a natural position.

The visitors began to get sloppy midway through the first half as Caitlin Foord failed to clear a Bayern chance moments before Rafaelle accidentally released Schuller to dribble straight into the box, and take a shot.

Bayern grew into the match as the mistakes began to creep into Arsenal’s game, and Schuller opened the scoring in the 38th minute. She started the move by feeding the ball to Maximiliane Rall and then sped into the box to get on the end of the right-back’s cross. Schuller lept high over Laura Wienroither to head the ball into the back of the net.

The second half saw a much more assured and confident Arsenal, who managed to hit the post in the 52nd minute after Foord curled a shot that sped past Maria Luisa Grohs and hit the far post. Minutes later, Stina Blackstenius’ effort was cleared off the line by the vastly experienced Saki Kumagai.

In the 70th minute, their appeared to be a Bayern backpass after Viggosdottir seemingly guided the ball to Grohs’ arms as Arsenal looked to score from a scramble in the box, but the referee waved to play on. VAR, who can only intervene in offsides, penalties, mistaken identities and red cards, could not give Arsenal the indirect free-kick.

Rall had a chance to score Bayern’s second in the dying minutes, but her shot was a comfortable save for Manuela Zinsberger.

The win means that Bayern head to the Emirates Stadium with a 1-0 advantage for the second leg.

GK: Maria Luisa Grohs – 7/10 – Made three comfortable saves, and had good communication with her backline. Arsenal didn’t trouble her too much.

RB: Maximiliane Rall – 7/10 – Registered the crucial assist while also taking care of her defensive duties.

CB: Saki Kumagai – 8/10 – Had crucial clearance off the line, and a blocked shot.

CB: Glodis Perla Viggosdottir – 9/10 – Great partnership with Kumagai, and the pair denied Arsenal’s central threats completely. Seven clearances and seven blocked shots throughout the 90 minutes.

LB: Tuva Hansen – 7/10 – Caused problems on the left-hand side, and did well in her defensive shape.

CM: Georgia Stanway – 7/10 – A solid performance in midfield, with four key passes showing her willingness to release her teammates forward.

CM: Sarah Zadrazil – 7/10 – Was all over the pitch, pressing, and defending her backline.

AM: Lina Magull – 6/10 – Not the best performance from the captain, as the ball just wasn’t sticking to her feet the way it normally does. Showed good leadership throughout.

RW: Klara Buhl – 7/10 – Was positioned as a right-wing, but strangely was given a more free-role, and dominated all areas of the pitch. Worked tiredly off the ball.

ST: Lea Schuller – 9/10 – Took her goal well, and consistently tested Arsenal’s backline with her seven shots.

LW: Sydney Lohmann – 6/10 – Got a yellow for keeping the ball from McCabe when the referee gave Arsenal a late free-kick, which earned her a pat on the back from Stanway. Also helped out off the ball quite a bit.

Substitutes

SUB: Jovana Damnjanovic (79′ for Schuller ) – 5/10

SUB: Franziska Kett (85′ for Magull) – N/A

SUB: Emilie Bragstad (90+1′ for Stanway) – N/A

Manager

Alexander Straus – 7/10 – Took advantage of Arsenal’s weak points, and didn’t derive from his plan. May have to be a bit more expansive at the Emirates.

GK: Manuela Zinsberger – 7/10 – Can’t really blame her for the goal, as it was a powerful, well placed header. A big save in the final five minutes to deny a second goal, and bailed out her backline a few times.

RB: Laura Wienroither – 6/10 – Struggled to get involved in the game much.

CB: Leah Williamson – 7/10 – Defended well, and was heavily involved in all phases of play.

CB: Rafaelle – 7/10 – Almost had an error that led to a goal, but otherwise, was able to keep it tight at the back.

LB: Noelle Maritz – 6/10 – Got forward a lot, and was involved with build-up play, but just couldn’t pick the best final third pass.

CM: Kim Little – 7/10 – Commanded the centre of the pitch, but could have offered more going forward.

CM: Frida Maanum – 6/10 – Not as involved as she could have been.

CM: Lia Walti – 7/10 – Two key passes, but lacked good decision making at times.

RW: Katie McCabe – 7/10 – Aggressive and passionate as always. Wanted to get forward a lot, and managed to create good chances.

ST: Stina Blackstenius – 6/10 – Only the one shot on target. Arsenal need more from their number nine.

LW: Caitlin Foord – 8/10 – Arsenal’s best player for large spells, and always looked like she was going to make something happen.

Substitutes

SUB: Victoria Pelova (60′ for Wienroither) – 5/10

SUB: Kathrine Moller Kuhl (81′ for Blackstenius) – 5/10 

Manager

Jonas Eidevall – 5/10 – Bayern were contempt to sit back, and defend, and Eidevall did not show much creativity in his subs to punish the home side’s approach. It was clear that a goalscorer was missing from the squad, and Arsenal will certainly regret not bringing one in during the winter window.

Player of the match – Lea Schuller (Bayern Munich)