The next couple of summer transfer windows are likely to be dominated by transfers of German players for Bayern Munich. The defending Bundesliga champions are reportedly interested in strengthening the German core in the squad as exciting talents in the Bundesliga are on the cusp of big moves.
Amongst several names, Die Roten has been heavily linked with Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz. The Bavarian club is set to face competition for the youngster as numerous top European clubs are closely following his development at Leverkusen.
Wirtz has also received a call-up to the national team due to his impressive performances at the club level. After Kai Havertz, Wirtz is tipped to be the next German superstar that will shine for Leverkusen and eventually move to a top club.
However, Die Roten may have to be patient in their pursuit of signing Wirtz from Leverkusen. While talking to Bild recently, Wirtz’s father and agent confirmed that the young attacking midfielder is likely to stay at Leverkusen for the next couple of years, but he doesn’t rule out a transfer after this timescale.
"“Florian definitely wants to play a good role in Leverkusen for the next two years. We don’t know yet what comes next. His focus is now only on Bayer and the national team.”"
From a financial point of view, Die Roten would be in a much better position to sign Wirtz in 2023. The youngster currently has five years left on his deal, so Leverkusen has a lot of leverage to demand a commanding transfer fee. The German club managed to get a significant fee for Havertz in 2020, so they will be looking for at least a similar package for Wirtz.
By the time the 2023 summer transfer window arrives, there will be only three years left on his contract, and negotiations with Leverkusen might be slightly less tricky for Bayern. The youngster will still command a significant fee, but Rekormeister will be in a much better financial state in 2023 than 2022 if Allianz Arena starts welcoming a full capacity crowd for games. The German champions have lost close to €150 million in the last 18 months due to the pandemic.
Wirtz will be also better served with playing for Leverkusen in the next two years. He will be getting regular playing time at the German club instead of becoming an option from the bench at the top clubs. The more playing time he gets, the better will be his development.
Die Roten has missed out on a few German talents in the past few seasons, so the club would like to avoid a similar fate with Wirtz. Apart from Wirtz, Die Roten may also target other young German stars such as Florian Neuhaus, Karim Adeyemi, and Ridle Baku next summer. With Wirtz staying at Leverkusen for two years, Rekordmeister can focus on other German talents next summer.