It isn’t just on the pitch where Man City and Liverpool do battle these days, but in the transfer market.
Both teams play a similar, attractive style of high-intensity football which is easy on the eye, and it therefore stands to reason why they would both be in the market for the same targets.
One of those is Bayer Leverkusen’s 20-year-old prodigy, Florian Wirtz.
The German is considered one of the brightest prospects in the game, and according to 90Min, both Premier League clubs are determined to fight for his signature, even if it’s extremely unlikely that Xabi Alonso will sanction any sale at this stage.
Given that Bayer remain unbeaten and at the top of the Bundesliga table ahead of Bayern Munich, who also remain huge admirers of Wirtz, there’s little need for the club to consider any offers for their star man at present either.
With three goals and five assists in 13 Bundesliga appearances as well as eight more goal contributions in the various cup competitions, per 90Min, the interest of each potential new employer is obvious.
Were Alonso able to take Bayer all the way to their first-ever German top-flight title, that would appear to be the right point for him to exit stage left and, perhaps, return to one of his former clubs as coach.
In so doing, that could spark an exodus which might well include Wirtz.
Patience is a virtue that Liverpool and Man City would therefore do well to remember.