- 15 hours ago
Bayer want Florian Wirtz until 2024: Man Utd and Bayern will have to wait
Florian Wirtz is the latest star talent to come through at Bayer Leverkusen, but he isn’t expected to leave the BayArena any time soon. Even though Fabrizio Romano has reported that Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are all intrigued by the 18-year-old, with Manchester United another club to be heavily linked with a future transfer, Bayer Leverkusen want him to stay for at least two more seasons.
There's lot of interest around Florian Wirtz - it's normal as he's one of the best talents in the world. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern are watching him closely for the future - nothing advanced. ⭐️🇩🇪 #Wirtz
No move expected in 2022. Bayer Leverkusen are planning to keep him. pic.twitter.com/n65284Y7KO— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 3, 2022
Die Werkself have Wirtz under contract until 2026 and are confident that they can fend off potential suitors until at least 2024.
The club’s CEO Fernando Carro spoke to Bild about the teenager and stated: “I reckon [Bayer Leverkusen can keep Wirtz] not just until 2023 but at least until 2024. We’ll try to keep him for as long as possible but I assume he won’t leave before 2024.”
Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro on BILD-TV says he expects Florian Wirtz to stay with the Werksclub for a while longer.
“I reckon not just until 2023 but at least until 2024 with Florian Wirtz. We’ll try to keep him for as long as possible but I assume he won’t leave before 2024.”— Derek Rae (@RaeComm) March 6, 2022
What kind of player is Florian Wirtz?
Although he is only 18, Wirtz has already played 76 times for Bayer Leverkusen’s senior side, having forced his way into the first team quickly after arriving from Köln’s youth system. It was when football returned from the coronavirus lockdown that he made his senior debut and became the fourth-youngest Bundesliga debutant ever, aged 17 years and 15 days.
From there, he has only improved and he even won the Bundesliga Player of the Month award in September of the 2021/22 season.
Able to dribble and cut defences open with his passing, Wirtz has 10 goals and 13 assists across his 29 appearances this season, making him an effective player for coach Gerardo Seoane and also a delight for the fans at the BayArena to watch.
Logically, he has been compared to the last superstar to come through Bayer Leverkusen – Kai Havertz. Comparing the two, Lotthar Mätthaus said at the start of this season that: " Wirtz will be the second Kai Havertz. He will go the same way as Havertz. In a few years, we will see him play for the Germany national team and we'll see him play for a big, big team in Europe."
Mätthaus’ prediction has already come partly true, as the teenager played in four of Germany’s World Cup qualifiers in autumn. Now comes the matter of which European giant he goes to, but that move might not be coming until 2024.
