Chelsea told £87m star dubbed new Kai Havertz ‘won’t be joining them’ in January
Chelsea will not be signing Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz in January, according to reports. The Bundesliga side have slapped a huge £87million price tag on the player once dubbed ‘the new Kai Havertz’ to ward off interest from some of Europe’s top clubs.
Wirtz has had a fine start to the season in a Leverkusen team that sits top of the Bundesliga. Managed by former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, they are unbeaten after 10 matches, winning nine of them.
The influence of Wirtz is undoubted, with three goals and four assists from his nine starts. He has also already racked up six goal contributions in the opening four Europa League group-stage matches.
At just 20 years old, it is clear to see why Wirtz is attracting interest from elsewhere. But it appears he won’t be going anywhere until next summer at least.
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TeamTalk claims that Leverkusen will not allow Wirtz to be sold in January. An asking price of £87m is likely to put some clubs off a winter move.
One of those is Chelsea, who are unlikely to push through with their interest. The report says Mauricio Pochettino wants to add more creativity to his squad but the recent performances of Cole Palmer, and the impending return of Christopher Nkunku, do not make a No 10 a priority in January.
Chelsea will instead look to recruit in attack as well as add depth to their defence. Liverpool are also said to be interested in Wirtz but the asking price, which has risen from a few months back, has put them off.
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Wirtz’s comparisons to Havertz have not come from his style of play, although both occupy a similar position. Wirtz is a good few inches shorter than his German compatriot.
But the pair were briefly team-mates at Leverkusen in 2020. Wirtz made his senior debut in May 2020 at the age of 17, breaking Havertz’s record of being the youngest player to play for the club in a league match.
Once Havertz left for Chelsea, it was down to Wirtz to step up and replace him. He made an immediate impression as a teenager and won his first cap for Germany later that season.
A cruciate knee ligament injury ruled him out for much of 2022, including the World Cup in Qatar. But he is back firing in a Leverkusen shirt and with over three-and-a-half years remaining on his contract, his value continues to rise.
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