Real Madrid want to sign €100m-rated German international, Barcelona and Manchester City also keen - Reports
Real Madrid are reportedly keeping a close eye on Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz, with arch-rivals Barcelona and European champions Manchester City also in the fray.
Still only 20, Wirtz has racked up 105 appearances across competitions, bagging an impressive 25 goals and 30 assists since his Leverkusen debut in 2019. That includes 11 goals and 18 assists in 49 games last season.
Wirtz has had a good start to the new season, scoring in the 3-2 Bundesliga home win over RB Leipzig. He also netted in the 8-0 thrashing of Teutonia 05 in the DFB-Pokal first round.
The precocious youngster signed a five-year extension to his Leverkusen contract on his 18th birthday in 2021, keeping him at the club till 2026 (as per Bundesliga.com). He has a market value of €85 million, as per Transfermarkt.
Meanwhile, in keeping with their quest to build up a young core, Madrid have their eyes on Wirtz, as per SPORT. Los Blancos have already snapped up Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga, and Jude Bellingham over the last two seasons. However, Leverkusen's €100 million valuation of Wirtz could be a potential deal-breaker.
That would also effectively rule out Barcelona, considering their rebuilding finances. Meanwhile, Manchester City are looking at Firtz as a potential replacement for their midfield maestro Kevin De Bruyne, who is currently out injured.
Real Madrid team news ahead of Getafe clash
Real Madrid have made a good start to their 2023-24 campaign. They won 2-0 at Athletic Bilbao in their La Liga opener on August 13 before winning 3-1 at Almeria six days later.
They will next face Celta Vigo away in La Liga on Friday (August 25). Ahead of the clash, most of their players attended the Tuesday training session at the Valdebebas, except Ferland Mendy, Dani Ceballos, and Arda Guler.
As per Managing Madrid, Mendy and Ceballos are making progress in their rehabilitation from injury. They should be fit for the home game against Getafe on September 2. However, Carlo Ancelotti will more likely play them two weeks later against Real Sociedad.
Guler, though, faces a long road to fitness after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery recently. Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and centre-back Eder Militao remain long-term absentees after tearing their ACLs.