Madrid join four-way race to sign the Bundesliga's in-form star - and it's not Haaland

Robin Bairner

• 6 Oct 2021 09:40 BST
• 3 min read

Erling Haaland is making headlines in the Bundesliga due to his prolific goal-scoring form with Borussia Dortmund, but the Norway international star is not the only talent catching the eye of elite clubs from Germany’s top flight.

The mad scramble that is sure to ensue for Haaland next summer may be leading the news currently, but there is a teenage superstar in the making in the form of Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz, and a similarly big battle could be waged over the 18-year-old in the months ahead.

REVEALED: The transfer value of every major player

Previously, Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City were all associated with the midfielder, but there is another heavyweight ready to make a move in 2022.

According to Bild, Real Madrid are lining up a move for the talented youngster, whose domestic form surpasses even that of Haaland.

Wirtz posts four goals and five assists in his six matches to date this term, making a decisive contribution in each game he has played – including a nine-minute substitute appearance against Borussia Monchengladbach, in which he gave an assist.

In Bundesliga play, he has either scored or assisted on average once every 40.78 minutes.

Haaland, whose prolific marksmanship has attracted every major European club to fight for him, may have seven goals and four assists from just five Bundesliga outings, but he has been decisive only once every 40.91 minutes.

The Leverkusen youngster is, therefore, the hottest player in Germany right now – an achievement all the more remarkable given that he is effectively an attacking box-to-box midfielder.

Will Madrid sign Wirtz?

His profile, of course, suits the project that Real Madrid are presently trying to build. Although they are aiming for established stars like Mbappe and Haaland, it is also notable that the players they are buying are extremely young.

Lesser clubs buy up these players to sell them on again, but Madrid are buying them up in a bid to unlock their superstar potential. That will be the case with Mbappe, who is 22, and Haaland, who is 20, and it was also the case with 18-year-old France international Eduardo Camavinga.

Wirtz would follow such a trend and is a logical target.

But Chelsea, Man Utd and Man City are arguably favourites in the race for now. With Madrid set to go all-in on Mbappe and Haaland, it is highly unlikely that they will have spare money to fund a move for Wirtz.

While FootballTransfers estimates his worth to be €53.2 million at present, but that is sure to rocket if he maintains his present form.

That is a figure that Real Madrid cannot afford on top of Mbappe and Haaland, yet Wirtz will remain firmly on their radar in case of a mishap in either of these cases.