Florian Wirtz has been a major revelation for Bayer Leverkusen this season, and the player has stepped up brilliantly to fill in the shoes of Kai Havertz, who left for Chelsea for a record fee this past summer.
A product of the Leverkusen academy that has produced some of the best German footballers in history, Wirtz has found himself regularly included in the starting XI. Even more impressively, the youngster has managed to deliver numbers for the team, scoring two goals and assisting five across 12 starts for the team in the Bundesliga.
Across all competitions, Wirtz has managed to provide 6 assists and 5 goals in 19 appearances. The young German is naturally right footed, and operates as the right attacking midfielder in Peter Bosz’s 4-1-4-1.
Leverkusen currently find themselves five points behind league leaders Bayern Munich, who have 33 points from 14 games played so far.
Speaking to Sport1, the youngster talked about his dream of playing for Barcelona, which, in his mind, rightfully appears to be the biggest club in the world. Here is what Wirtz had to say:
“I always want to be the best. As a kid, I have dreamt of playing for Barça. That has not changed, but it can wait.”
Having only recently extended his contract till 2023, Wirtz will be determined to keep his focus on the Bundesliga and continue to deliver top performances to help Leverkusen challenge Bayern Munich for the title.
While a move to Barcelona could certainly be on the cards in the future, the youngster will have to show world-class quality to compete with the already stacked young Barcelona midfield that consists of the likes of Riqui Puig, Pedri, Carles Alena and Frenkie De Jong.
