Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz is the hottest property on the European transfer market and his departure is imminent.
Liverpool look likely to get their man for a very hefty transfer fee, seeing off competition from Premier League rivals Manchester City as well as Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
Bayern tends to be the natural destination for Germany’s best young players at other clubs but 22-year-old Wirtz is understood to be bound for Anfield when the Reds can finalise a deal with Leverkusen and the player himself.
‘He’s definitely in the top 10 in the world’
Understandably, there are those at Leverkusen who won’t be upset to see Wirtz break the pattern of Bayern hoovering up German talent.
Spanish midfielder Aleix Garcia, who joined Leverkusen last summer and had the briefest of Premier League experiences with Man City, has backed his teammate’s Liverpool choice.
“[Jonathan] Tah has gone to Bayern, and if Wirtz were to leave, they’d be almost unstoppable,” Garcia told AS via Sport Witness.
“I think he’ll go to England and make a difference. I wish him the best of luck because, apart from being a star, he’s a very good guy.
“I spent a year with him and I think he’s dazzling. He has superior quality and is a game-changer. He’s also driven to improve every day and always be the best.
“He’s definitely in the top 10 in the world. I don’t know if he’s in the top five but he’s definitely in the top 10. He has spectacular talent and a hunger to keep improving.
“It’s better to not have him as a rival.”
Garcia signed for the then-champions from Girona last June, joining Wirtz and Tah in an unsuccessful title defence under former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso.
After their historic unbeaten league season Die Werkself claimed a comfortable second place in 2024-25 but finished 13 points behind Bayern.
Alonso has since departed for Real Madrid and new coach Erik ten Hag will have to contend with the loss of Tah and Wirtz as Leverkusen’s success inevitably begins to result in their top talent getting plucked.
Midfielder Garcia will be eager to be pivotal in Ten Hag’s plan to navigate the transition. He spent three years at Girona after short spells in Romania and at Eibar, having been sold to Dinamo Bucharest by City in 2020.
Now 27, Garcia broke into the Spanish national team picture as a Girona player and featured in 28 Bundesliga games for Leverkusen in 2024-25.
