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The Transfer Radar 2025: The Athletic’s ultimate guide for players who could be on the move

Florian Wirtz is a jewel of German football, playing a pivotal role in Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten home double last season to win the Bundesliga Player of the Year award. Along with Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala, he has also become the great hope of Julian Nagelsmann’s national team and will be fundamental to Germany’s challenge at the 2026 World Cup.

His contract runs until 2027, so there is no obligation to sell, but given his close relationship with in-demand head coach Xabi Alonso, there will come a time when Wirtz, who joined Leverkusen from Cologne in 2020, may also look elsewhere.

He is at the top of the game, but his path depends on which club is willing to meet Leverkusen’s asking price of €150 million (£125 million; $159 million). They won’t understand that, but the figure shows how highly Wirtz is valued.

Fernando Carro, the club’s CEO, believes he could stay this season.

Seb Stafford-Bloor

What else should I know about him?

There is an enigmatic silence about him. He is understandably laconic, given the attention he receives in the German media, but is also hugely popular in the Leverkusen dressing room and fashion-conscious off the pitch as well. He looks like someone on the way back from a Stone Roses gig.

Wirtz has been a star for a long time. In his early teens there were stories about a little boy in Cologne who was perhaps the country’s best talent in years. The hype was justified. What happened next, however, created a bitterness that continues to this day.

As he progressed through Koln’s youth teams, there was a gentlemen’s agreement between several clubs in the region – including Koln, Leverkusen, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Fortuna Düsseldorf – which stipulated that, for the betterment of the region, they would not poach each other’s youth players. .

After turning 17, Wirtz’s youth contract with Cologne expired. The player’s parents wanted him to complete his education and stay close to home, so he went to Leverkusen for €300,000. His new club felt he was fair game – a senior, rather than a youth player. Koln believed otherwise and claimed that their local rivals had violated the agreement.

Max Eberl, then sporting director of Gladbach (and now Bayern board member for sport), was critical of Leverkusen’s behaviour, but Carro, who remains CEO of Leverkusen, defended his club.

Old news perhaps, but one of Bayern’s transfer targets is – inevitably – Wirtz, which would entail a difficult negotiation.

Will he go there? Most likely not. Musiala’s contract extension is Bayern’s priority. Given the strength of his relationship with Alonso and how good his form has been under him, the smart money could be on them taking their next steps together.

Seb Stafford-Bloor

Tell me how he plays…

On the pitch, his control, dribbling ability and creative ability make him one of the most exciting players in the world. He can weave his way past defenders, but also find teammates with one-twos, precise passes and through balls, while his off-ball movement and positioning regularly puts him in areas where he can score and create.

Throughout his short career as a senior, he has been on the front line and ranked as a number 10. This versatility allowed Nagelsmann to successfully play him and Musiala together at the 2024 European Championship.

Under Alonso, Wirtz’s defensive work has also improved, and he has been willing to put in the hard numbers to manage Leverkusen’s press. Wirtz has lifted the floor playing behind the striker, but probably hasn’t reached his ceiling yet – that’s especially a scary prospect.

Anantajith Raghuraman

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