Florian Wirtz is probably the Bayer Leverkusen player who the West Ham United fans fear the most ahead of our Europa League quarter-final clash.
West Ham face Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League next month, and Florian Wirtz is someone who we definitely need to be wary of – the German side have said this themselves!
David Moyes will have his work curt out if his Hammers side are to progress through to the semi-finals of Europe’s second-tier competition.
Leverkusen have been in sensational form this season under the guidance of Xabi Alonso, and they are currently sitting pretty at the top of the Bundesliga table with a 10 point lead over second placed Bayern Munich.
The style of football being implemented by the former Liverpool and Real Madrid star is on a different level to what we’re used to seeing under Moyes.
Many are predicting that Leverkusen will wipe the floor with us over two legs next month, but I think we actually have a chance, as long as we keep their best players quiet.
That will obviously be easier said than done, and our players need to be at their very best, if they are to turn over the German league leaders.
However, there could be a bit of unrest in the Leverkusen camp concerning their most potent attacking threat…
Bayer Leverkusen meltdown after German media’s Florian Wirtz claim
It seems as though the German media might have just unwittingly given the Hammers a helping hand ahead of our Europa League showdown with Leverkusen.
Some may say that I’m clutching at straws here but I really feel like the Bundesliga leaders may well be unsettled after the latest claims coming out of Germany.
German publication Bild and the journalists who work for them have been pushing for Leverkusen’s best player Florian Wirtz to join Bayern Munich this summer. They are suggesting that the German giants should be doing everything in their power to sign the super talented Wirtz.
Fans of English clubs outside of the so-called ‘Big Six’ will know about this narrative all too well. Our best and most important players are constantly linked with moves to the Premier League’s biggest clubs.
There is a narrative in England that if a player is excelling for one of the other 14 clubs, then he quite simply has to join a top six side, or move to European royalty, and it seems to be the same in Germany. Long gone are the days when the likes of Alan Shearer, Matt Le Tissier and Paolo Di Canio remained with so-called smaller clubs.
Why should Leverkusen be forced into selling Wirtz to Bayern in the summer? The 20-year-old has been absolutely outstanding for Xabi Alonso’s side so far this season with 11 goals and 17 assists in 36 games to his name (Transfermarkt).
Wirtz is a very special talent and has been the best player for his club this season, as they look to win the Bundesliga title for the first time in their history. The thought of losing him to Bayern will be an incredibly hard one to process for the Bayer 04 fans.
Whether Bayer Leverkusen are rattled by the Florian Wirtz claim ahead of their Europa League clash with West Ham remains to be seen though.
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