Florian Wirtz is a jewel of German soccer and was central to Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten home double final season, profitable the Bundesliga’s participant of the yr award. Alongside Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala, he has turn into the good hope of Julian Nagelsmann’s nationwide crew, too, and will likely be basic to Germany’s problem on the 2026 World Cup.
His contract runs till 2027, so there isn’t a obligation to promote however contemplating his shut relationship with in-demand head coach Xabi Alonso, there’ll come some extent when Wirtz, who joined Leverkusen from Koln in 2020, may look elsewhere.
He belongs on the high of the sport however his path is dependent upon which membership is keen to satisfy Leverkusen’s €150million (£125m; $159m) asking worth. They won’t get that, however the determine represents how extremely Wirtz is valued.
Fernando Carro, the membership’s CEO, believes he would possibly keep past this season.
Seb Stafford-Bloor
What else do I must find out about him?
There’s an enigmatic quiet to him. He’s understandably laconic, given the eye he receives within the German media, however can also be extraordinarily widespread inside the Leverkusen dressing room and fashion-conscious off the pitch, too, wanting like somebody on the way in which again from a Stone Roses gig.
Wirtz has been a star for a very long time. In his early teenagers, there have been tales of a tiny boy at Koln who is perhaps the nation’s best expertise in years. The hype was justified. What occurred subsequent, nonetheless, created acrimony that lasts to this present day.
When he was progressing via Koln’s youth groups, a gents’s settlement existed between a number of golf equipment within the space — Koln, Leverkusen, Borussia Monchengladbach and Fortuna Dusseldorf amongst them — stipulating that, for the betterment of the area, they’d not poach one another’s youth gamers.
After he turned 17, Wirtz’s youth contract at Koln expired. The participant’s dad and mom needed him to complete his education and keep near dwelling, so he joined Leverkusen for €300,000. His new membership felt he was honest sport — a senior, moderately than a youth participant. Koln believed in a different way, claiming their native rivals had violated the settlement.
Max Eberl, Gladbach’s sporting director on the time (and now Bayern’s board member for sport), was important of Leverkusen’s conduct however Carro, who stays Leverkusen’s CEO, defended his membership.
Outdated information, maybe, however amongst Bayern’s switch targets is — inevitably — Wirtz, which might contain a prickly negotiation.
Will he go there? Almost definitely not. Musiala’s contract extension is Bayern’s precedence. Given the energy of his relationship with Alonso and the way good his type has been below him, the good cash is perhaps on them taking their subsequent steps collectively.
Seb Stafford-Bloor
Inform me about how he performs…
On the pitch, his management, dribbling skill and artistic prowess make him one of many world’s most fun gamers. He can weave his well past defenders but additionally discover team-mates with one-twos, exact passes and thru balls whereas his off-the-ball motion and positioning recurrently put him in areas to attain and create.
Throughout his quick senior profession, he has featured throughout the entrance line and as a No 10. This versatility allowed Nagelsmann to efficiently play him and Musiala collectively at Euro 2024.
Below Alonso, Wirtz’s defensive work has improved too, and he has been keen to place the onerous yards in to steer Leverkusen’s press. Wirtz has lifted the ground for enjoying behind the striker however arguably has not reached his ceiling — that, greater than something, is a daunting prospect.
Anantaajith Raghuraman