Brentford and Bayer Leverkusen defenders emerge on Manchester City’s transfer radar

Manchester City have a plan to recruit defenders from both Premier League rivals Brentford and Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen, according to reports.

It is the first indication as to what the reigning Premier League champions have in their transfer plans for the 2025 summer market and beyond, as doubts continue to linger over the future of Pep Guardiola.

The Manchester City manager remains in a period of limbo over his Etihad Stadium future, with his current contractual agreement expiring at the end of the ongoing season and the 53-year-old having not made a decision as to whether to extend his stay with the club.

Some close to Manchester City believe that there is a growing belief over Guardiola putting pen to paper on a new one-year deal, but the Catalan coach himself has remained tight-lipped over any extension being signed in the near future.

With that being said, City themselves are continuing to push ahead with transfer plans with particular elements coming directly from the manager himself, in what some may believe to be an indication as to whether Guardiola is looking to stay at the club beyond this season.

According to the information of Football Transfers’ Steve Kay, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has had an eye on Brentford’s Sepp van den Berg since the defender was registered with Liverpool but on loan at Preston North End.

It is claimed that the centre-back caught Guardiola’s eye during a pre-season friendly in 2021 and he has been on his radar since, however any move to the Etihad Stadium is not likely to materialise until the summer of 2025 given he only joined Brentford last summer.

The same report also claims that Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong is another player that Pep Guardiola admires, with the pair holding a good relationship and the Netherlands international being a graduate of the Manchester City academy.

Manchester City have already confirmed that they will oversee one major change centred around their transfer department in 2025, with long-standing Director of Football, Txiki Begiristain leaving the organisation after 12 successful seasons in the role.

Begiristain and his colleagues in the boardroom at the Etihad Stadium have already finalised an agreement over his successor, with Sporting’s Director of Football, Hugo Viana following the steps of the club’s manager in Ruben Amorim by moving to Manchester.

The Portuguese pair, who brought huge success to Sporting over the last four seasons in particular, will go head-to-head on either side of Manchester with very different challenges on their hands from the 2025/26 season onwards.