“Florian Wirtz, he is a different player,” Marco Neppe tells Sky Sports. The former Bayern Munich technical director is a long-term admirer, but then who isn’t? At 22 years old, the Bayer Leverkusen player is already established among the world’s very best.
Last season, he was the fulcrum in the final third for a side that shocked Europe by ending Bayern’s 11-year reign as Leverkusen went unbeaten in the Bundesliga campaign to claim the first title in the club’s history. This season, his numbers are even better.
Into double figures for goals, he also has the most assists from open play in the competition with 12. Wirtz has completed the most dribbles in Germany, that ability to glide by opponents without breaking stride setting him apart. Special, in other words.
“It is the combination,” explains Neppe. “His willingness. He is so brave. His skillset is dangerous for every opponent. He can change the momentum of a game just by having an idea nobody expects and suddenly everything is different. He is a game changer.”
Wirtz does that a lot. This season began with a 100th-minute winner at Gladbach on the opening night before he scored two and assisted another in the reverse fixture. Against Freiburg in December, he scored one and assisted three in a second-half shellacking.
Freiburg were the victims of perhaps his greatest goal yet, a blood-twisting solo run in the October of 2023. A natural right-footer, he finished that with his left and it is striking just how comfortable Wirtz is moving at pace with both feet in tight situations.
While it was that 2023/24 Bundesliga season that belonged to him, winning the competition’s player of the year award, this has been a coming-of-age campaign for Wirtz in the Champions League, scoring six goals in just nine European appearances this time around.
Wirtz’s shooting stats for Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League
His achievements at such a young age are all the more remarkable given that he has had to overcome adversity to get here. After becoming the youngest player to score in the Bundesliga, he suffered a cruciate ligament injury that halted his progress.
Neppe and Bayern considered luring him to Munich while injured in a demonstration of faith in his ability to fulfil his potential, sensing an opportunity to sign him on the cheap. But Wirtz focused on getting himself back fit, his comeback highlighting his resilience.
In February of 2023, it was a pleasure to be inside the Bay Arena to see Wirtz score his first goal since returning from that injury – putting Leverkusen ahead against Monaco in the knockout stages of that season’s Europa League. It was a cathartic moment for him.
Speaking to Simon Rolfes in his office at the stadium earlier that day, Leverkusen’s sporting director was effusive in his praise of Wirtz. Putting it to him that perhaps English audiences did not yet know much about the youngster, he replied swiftly: “You will do!”
Wirtz’s passing stats for Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League
While Leverkusen could not have appreciated quite how good he would become, they knew all about Wirtz’s vast potential. It is why they recruited him from Cologne at the age of 17, their neighbours believing this broke a gentleman’s agreement between the clubs.
For a generation, these Rhineland rivals had not targeted each other’s academy players. Leverkusen’s then managing director Rudi Voller argued that to ignore the possibility of bringing in Wirtz would have been “grossly negligent” – such was his obvious talent.
Even the fact that Wirtz chose Leverkusen – there were already offers from Europe’s biggest clubs back then – reflected his maturity. His family wished for him to continue his studies closer to home. Wirtz had a clear vision for how best to progress his career.
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Watch Wirtz’s best Bundesliga moments for Bayer Leverkusen
Rolfes explained: “From the mental side, he is incredible. How he works, how ambitious he is, how stable he is emotionally. Everyone sees the technical side, the fantastic passes, the dribbling, whatever. But this side of him is amazing. He is just so focused.”
Even then, while still a teenager, Wirtz’s maturity made him stand out. “Already, he is a leader of this team, inspiring the other players with his behaviour. He is making the other players better around him. And I think a really top, top player has this ability.”
Those proved to be prescient words because, under Xabi Alonso’s guidance, Wirtz was the one able to open things up for a Leverkusen team that swept all before them domestically in 2023/24 – going unbeaten in both league and cup competition.
His blossoming can be teased out from the statistics, the little curious details that hint at a player doing this differently to the rest. Consider, for example, how many more lay-off passes that he plays compared to others – 45 per cent more than any other player.
He knits attacks, plays short give-and-go passes, moving constantly. The only players to complete more passes in the final third in the Bundesliga this season are Granit Xhaka and Joshua Kimmich – playmakers from deep. But Wirtz is often trying the trickier stuff.
In possession, he has attempted the most through-balls. Out of possession, he is a pressing machine, with more high turnovers than anyone else in the Bundesliga and fifth in the Champions League rankings despite others playing many more matches.
“He is an excellent player but also an excellent team player,” said Rolfes. “One thing I already mentioned is the mental side, but from a technical side, he finds the spaces to score, to give assists, to accelerate the game. In those positions, he can find solutions.”
Only Jamal Musiala could possibly be considered his equal as the most exciting young player in Germany. Crucially, both have old heads on their shoulders, the mentality that is needed not just to reach the top of their profession but to ensure that they stay there.
Speaking to the legendary Ballon d’Or winning midfielder Lothar Matthaus on a recent trip to Germany, he not only lectured a small group of English-speaking journalists on their pronunciation – think veertz not a German sausage – but praised Wirtz’s attitude.
“With Florian Wirtz, like with Musiala too, they love it,” Matthaus said. “And when you love football, you make a good job.” He noted that both had family around them – in particular, Wirtz’s father and Musiala’s mother – taking care of those outside matters.
“Very important, I think, for the younger generation of player. When I see Wirtz and Musiala, they are doing everything for the football. They like to go to training, they like to be on the field with their team-mates, they like to always do something to improve.”
As Neppe puts it, “Germany can be really happy and proud to have two players like Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz.” The football club that is able to acquire the services of Wirtz and persuade him to spend his prime years there will surely be even happier.
Liverpool would be acquiring one of the brightest young talents in world football
What would he bring to Liverpool?
The most likely vacancy in Liverpool’s starting line-up is up front, so it is intriguing that the Premier League champions would be prepared to spend the bulk of their budget on a player who tends to operate deeper. But for someone like Wirtz, plans can change.
Perhaps he could be utilised as a false nine with Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah cutting inside from the wide areas. His ability to fashion opportunities for others would certainly lighten the creative load that has been on Salah during his record-breaking year.
Arne Slot did toy with a 4-2-2-2 formation with Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai playing alongside each other in advanced roles, most notably opting for that system with some success in a 2-0 win over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in February.
Wirtz would appear to be a natural in that position, although he could also be deployed wider on the left flank or even as part of a midfield three in games that Liverpool anticipate dominating. He is flexible. And for a player this good, coaches will be flexible too.
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