£87m attacker’s Dad suggests his son won’t be playing for Liverpool next season

Add as preferred source on Google

Liverpool have been dealt a potential blow in their reported pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen forward Florian Wirtz.

With a move already ruled in January, Wirtz has been claimed to feature on Liverpool’s shortlist ahead of the summer window next year.

However, the 20-year-old’s Dad has now publicly stated that he expects his son to remain at Leverkusen until 2025. In quotes via German reporter Florian Plettenberg on X, Hans-Joachim Wirtz put a pin in any transfer talk for 2024.

“Currently, everything is geared towards Florian continuing to play in Leverkusen next season,” says Wirtz senior, 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. It’s sometimes best to strike when the iron’s hot.

Should he wait – as it appears he’s willing to do – Wirtz could miss out on securing a dream transfer.

Nevertheless, this is probably good news for Liverpool. It seems unlikely that they’d be chasing a big deal for Wirtz this summer. 18 months down the line, they could well be better placed to do so. It also gives them plenty of time to convince him to choose the Reds over Bayern!