Delhi, 2 March (H.S.): Bayern Munich chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has announced that his club will target the signing of Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz this summer.

Manchester City have been long-term admirers of Wirtz, 21, who played a key role in Leverkusen winning a domestic double under Xabi Alonso last season.

The Premier League champions had appeared to be in pole position to sign Wirtz at the end of the season, in a deal that could see James McAtee go in the opposite direction.

However, Bayern have now officially entered the race for Wirtz’s signature, with Rummenigge – who is a supervisory board member at Bayern – declaring that the Bundesliga giants want to poach ‘the best player in Germany’ from their rivals.

In an interview with AZ, Rummenigge said he makes ‘no secret of the fact that it must clearly be our goal to sign Wirtz.’

He added: ‘Everyone at FC Bayern agrees that he is exactly the player we want to sign. Not to weaken Leverkusen, but to strengthen us.’

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar