Exclusive: Liverpool, Chelsea race for Bundesliga star put on ice as huge transfer demands are revealed
Liverpool and Chelsea will have to wait until the summer if they want to prise Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen with sources informing TEAMtalk of the German club’s huge asking price.
Leverkusen have lost a number of key figures over the past few years as they continue to develop some of the worlds most exciting talent. However, with the January window opening for business in just 53 days, the Bundesliga giants are making it clear that they have no intention of selling their latest top-quality talent – just yet.
Indeed, 20-year-old Wirtz is one of the most wanted players in Europe and is being tracked by some of the world biggest clubs including Real Madrid, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
Bayern made enquiries in the summer and the 12-times capped Germany star has made the list of options for both Liverpool and Chelsea, though a move did not transpire as Leverkusen held firm to keep their star man.
However, Leverkusen are not immune to Wirtz’s sale and we can reveal the Bundesliga club will only consider a fee of £87.2m (€100m) for any deal to be sanctioned.
Mauricio Pochettino wants to add more creative flair into his side, although recent additions of Christopher Nkunku and Cole Palmer mean that a No 10 is not the priority this winter for Chelsea. As a result, their January focus will be instead be on signing a striker and a defender.
Bayern Munich are huge fans and want to bring him to the Allianz arena as they look to continue their dominance of German football. The move to Germany’s most successful team would interest Wirtz, though he is keen to be playing at the highest level possible.
€100m asking price could put off Liverpool
Liverpool underwent a rebuild in the summer as clubs legends such as Jordan Henderson departed and Jurgen Klopp began a new cycle of players at Anfield. Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai both came in with Ryan Gravenberch finalising the new look midfield three.
The Reds listed Wirtz as a target but the rising price put off the club, who were not keen to spend the huge amounts to get him out of the BayArena. This January will now be even more unlikely for suitors as the club are strongly ruling out any move for the 20-year-old.
Liverpool are believed to be strong contenders to sign Wirtz thanks to Klopp and his extensive contacts in German football and Wirtz is a player the manager would be very keen to add to his attacking line, particularly in light of uncertainty surrounding Mohamed Salah’s future at the club.
The Leverkusen board are not looking to lose any key players though right now with the side currently sitting at the top of the table and flying under boss Xabi Alonso. Wirtz has been a key figure in the side and losing him midway through the season is seen as a no-go.
Wirtz has made 15 appearances across all competitions for Leverkusen this season scoring six times and grabbing nine assists. He is also a full Germany international representing his country on twelve occasions.
The versatile attacker’s current contract with the German club runs until 2027 after putting pen to paper on an extension in June 2022. Wirtz joined Leverkusen’s youth set up in 2020 after making the switch from Koln’s youth side and worked his way up to the first team that same year.
Wirtz became the fourth youngest player to make his Bundesliga debut two weeks after turning 17 years old. Since then, Wirtz has made 87 Bundesliga appearances, netting 16 goals and offering up 26 assists in those outings.
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