The £87million striker and his father hint that his son will not play for Liverpool next season
Liverpool have been dealt a potential blow in their pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen striker Florian Wirtz. Wirtz is said to be on Liverpool’s shortlist ahead of next year’s summer window, with a move already decided in January. However, the 20-year-old’s father has now publicly announced that he expects his son to stay at Leverkusen until 2025. Quoting X’s German reporter Florian Plettenberg, Hans-Joachim Wirtz has put a nail in the coffin of any transfer talk of 2024. “Right now everything is geared towards Florian continuing to play at Leverkusen next season,” says Wirtz Sr., who is also Florian’s agent. Plettenberg goes on to add a little more colour, claiming that it’s now ‘likely’ that the Germany international will stay at Leverkusen for 2024/25. After that, the journalist reports that Bayern Munich want him, and Wirtz himself ‘prefers’ to join the Bundesliga champions. Wirtz set to stay at Leverkusen This is quite a bold statement from Wirtz’s father, and a potentially surprising one, too. Having been one of the best players in a Leverkusen side who are flying, the youngster has been linked to a plethora of top teams recently. With a reported price-tag of around £87m, Wirtz’s value is through the roof right now. Although you have to admire his strategy of staying at Leverkusen a little longer, there’s really no guarantee that that interest will remain. Given that he’s yet to even turn 21, you could argue that there’s plenty of time for Wirtz to get his move. And that’s true, there is. However, the former Koln prospect has already suffered a big setback with a knee injury in 2022. In football, you just never know when these things are coming. Sometimes it’s best to strike while the iron is hot. If he waits — as he appears poised to do — Wirtz could miss out on a dream move. However, this is probably good news for Liverpool. It seems unlikely that they will pursue a large contract with Wirtz this summer. In 18 months, they might do better. It also gives them plenty of time for him to pick the Reds over Bayern!