For at least the last year, Germany and Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz has been playing with the assurance that whenever he decides to move on, he will have his pick of the top clubs in Europe. The 21-year-old star could make that call this summer, and already has Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Real Madrid in pursuit.
Speaking to The Daily Briefing, German insider Christian Falk has explained that Manchester City have a strong shot at his signature following Pep Guardiola’s contract extension. On the other hand, Bayern Munich are doing everything they can to unite him with international teammate Jamal Musiala at club level.
Real Madrid in theory are willing to spend less on Wirtz, but various points are aligning in their favour. Falk revealed that while his agent remains father Hans-Joachim Wirtz, as part of a sponsorship deal with Pepsi, he now has Volker Struth on his team – who is Toni Kroos’ agent. Should he decide to make a move to Los Blancos, Struth’s presence would be an advantage for Real Madrid.
This is obviously combined with the fact that Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso, who has overseen Wirtz’s development into a starter for Germany and Bundesliga champions, is widely expected to end up at Real Madrid sooner rather than later. While some reports in the capital deny that there has been any contact with Alonso, the Basque coach is tipped to succeed Carlo Ancelotti.