Arsenal, Tottenham ready to fight for classy €80m-rated Bundesliga playmaker also on Man City’s radar
Bayer Leverkusen's head coach Xabi Alonso, right, talks to Florian Wirtz
Arsenal and Tottenham are reportedly ready to go head-to-head to land a quality Bundesliga playmaker in either January or next summer but will have Manchester City to contend with as well.
Impressive Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz is the player linked to the north London duo, although nabbing his signature any time soon will come at a premium.
The 20-year-old has established himself as one of the best attacking talents in Germany, having scored five goals and added a whopping nine assists for Xabi Alonso’s men already this season.
Indeed, Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo states that Wirtz‘s performances this season are attracting a number of clubs to test the waters of a big-money move.
Chief among those suitors are the Gunners and Spurs, as Mikel Arteta and Ange Postecoglou look to bolster their squads after impressive starts to the season.
You could argue that the interest from both clubs is somewhat surprising given the quality of attacking midfielders they already have in their ranks.
Arsenal utilise skipper Martin Odegaard as a No.10, where Wirtz does his best work, although the German can also play in a wide role.
To that end, his potential arrival could be to provide extra competition for the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard in the wide roles at The Emirates.
As for Tottenham, they currently have bargain summer signing James Maddison causing carnage from his attacking midfield role behind a front three of Richarlison, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski.
Spurs also have numerous players as backup options for the winger positions, including the likes of Brennan Johnson and Manor Solomon – when te latter returns from injury.
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Big hitters all chasing Wirtz signature
However, the north London clubs are not the only interested parties in Wirtz, with Mundo adding that City, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are also chasing the Leverkusen sensation.
Stop that Florian Wirtz. pic.twitter.com/vzZ2hhs8Ab
— Stop That Football (@stopthatfooty) October 31, 2023
Wirtz’s current contract with the Bundesliga club does not run out until 2027, leaving Leverkusen in a strong position to demand a high price for his signature. And the report adds that price tag is somewhere between €80-100 million.
Quite whether any club will be prepared to spend that sort of money in January remains to be seen, although Wirtz’s price tag is unlikely to drop any time soon – if he continues his stunning form under Liverpool legend Alonso.
