Pep Guardiola ‘seems’ to be a huge fan of Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz, with the midfielder highlighted as a ‘potential successor’ to Kevin De Bruyne.
Christian Falk reports that the Sky Blues ‘have a big chance’ to snap up the Pulheim-born ace if they make their move in 2025.
“I think Leverkusen are very clear when it comes to Florian Wirtz. He wants to stay until 2025 if there’s Champions League football and Alonso is staying,” the German journalist shared in his exclusive column with CaughtOffside.
“But, there is an agreement in the club that he could leave for a fee of €130m minimum (there is some talk of €150m minimum).
“At the end, at both prices, there are not so many clubs that can pay that. There’s only one which is indeed interested, watching him very closely and can pay this amount – and that’s Manchester City.
“I think Bayern Munich will be out of the race with this asking price. If Manchester City make the move, they have a big chance to get the player.
“Pep Guardiola seems to be a big fan of him! He can play many positions (he’s not a like-for-like for Kevin De Bruyne but he can play this position). He could be a potential successor for De Bruyne perhaps, playing the position in his own way, which fits perfectly with Guardiola.”
Xabi Alonso’s men have been the surprise package in the Bundesliga this term, topping the table on 17 games played.
What do the stats say?
If top outfits beyond Bayern Munich and Manchester City aren’t looking at the German international – they very much should be, despite the astonishing price-tag.
The attacking midfielder (who moonlights as a wide man) has 20 goal contributions from 24 appearances in all competitions this term.
The 20-year-old already ranks amongst the most highly-rated creative outlets, with FBref placing him in the 95th percentile for shot-creating actions.
He’s a more than competent, aggressive dribbler too, ranking in the 95th percentile for successful take-ons.
Add on the fact he’s pretty reliable in possession (he provides more passes per 90 than Phil Foden, for example, with around a 5% difference when it comes to accuracy) and there’s little wonder why Guardiola finds the young playmaker an attractive prospect.
It sems to me to be inconceivable that City will pay that sort of money for a 20 year old, where the investment is still much about potential and where in addition to this, character and personality issues are not yet fully matured so are unknown factors. Bellingham was certainly a special case, if Wirtz was at that level the queue at the door would be three deep and longer than Donald Trump’s nose.
crazy money, top clubs should stop paying these crazy prices
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