It seems like a matter of time until Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz makes his move to the Premier League, with English champions Liverpool the heavily odds on favourites to land his signature.
The Bundesliga Players’ Player of the Year has enjoyed another stellar campaign and his move away from Leverkusen seems almost inevitable, with the biggest clubs on the planet considering a move for the 22-year-old. Manchester City have cooled their interest and 2024/25 Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich looked a likely destination for Wirtz until Liverpool manager Arne Slot intervened in mid May.
With 16 goals and 15 assists this season the Werkself attacking midfielder has written more than his fair share of Bundesliga 2025 news headlines, and he’s sure to become box office stuff in the Premier League. And Bayern officials have been left a little stunned after the player’s agent, his father, telephoned the Bavarians to say he’d decided not to join them. He is reported to be looking for a new challenge after spending five years in the German top flight and was impressed by Liverpool’s ambition and direction of travel; and there are very few players who don’t want to play in the English top flight. A move with a price of between £109, and £126m is being discussed and, here at SBOTOP, we’ll keep you posted with this fast moving story.
Wirtz beat off competition from Bayern’s Harry Kane and Michael Olise to win the Players’ Player of the Year Award for the second season running after he was voted in during Leverkusen’s title-winning campaign in 2023/24. He’s only the second player to win the award in consecutive seasons and will be a big loss to Leverkusen, as will manager Xabi Alonso, who is on his way to Real Madrid.
Former Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag is set to take over Die Werkself and it looks like he is busying himself with a potential raid on Old Trafford. The Red Devils finished in 15th place in the Premier League and, without European football next season they may have to sell their crown jewels to avoid getting into financial hot water. The Bundesliga club’s recruitment team have been considering a move for one or both of the wingers Antony and Alejandro Garnacho. Either could be seen as a potential replacement for Wirtz; Antony has rediscovered his form in a loan move to Real Betis, making 14 goal contributions in 26 appearances, while Garnacho has been a bright spark among the gloom at the Theatre of Dreams.
Ten Hag brought Brazilian Antony to Old Trafford in 2022 and the two could soon be reunited, while Garnacho seems, oddly, to have fallen out of favour with Red Devil’s current head coach Ruben Amorin. The Argentine star was left out of the starting line-up in Manchester United’s Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, and then he didn’t even make the squad for his club’s final league game, against Aston Villa, and his manager has apparently opened the door for his departure.
Red Bull slap a huge price tag on Sesko
A seventh-place finish for Red Bull Leipzig was a huge disappointment for the moneybags club and it promises to be a challenging summer. Red Bull Leipzig are the biggest club to miss out on Europe and now some of their players have come under the spotlight, with Europe’s big spending clubs beginning to circle. The pre-season Bundesliga 2025 betting odds backed Die Roten Bullen to earn a Champions League place, but without even Europa football, some ambitious players may be eyeing a move.
But any suitors will have to pay a premium, with the club already putting a huge price of 110m Euros on the head of striker Benjamin Sesko. The Slovenian was the ninth top scorer in the Bundesliga with 13 goals, to make it 27 in 64 over two seasons in Leipzig and, at 6ft 5in he is a real handful. Sesko scored the opener in a recent 3-3 draw with Bayern Munich; whether someone will play 110m Euros remains to be seen but Leipzig are looking to cut costs and raise revenue.
Another player who may be on his way out is 22-year-old centre back Castello Lukeba who has a release clause of 90m Euros. Liverpool are looking for a central defender, ultimately to replace Virgil Van Dijk and to bolster an area which Slot wants to strengthen right now. With one cap for Les Bleus, Lukeba is an exciting prospect and Liverpool are hoping to move that deal forward in the coming weeks.
Leipzig are already lining up a replacement in the shape of Valencia centre back Cristhian Mosquera who has already spoken to Red Bull officials, but the two clubs still need to get around the table, with Leverkusen and Bayern Munich both monitoring the situation.
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