Transfer Talk: Leverkusen puts Wirtz’s asking price at over €130m،
The winter transfer window is now open in Europe, and there are plenty of moves being made and plenty of gossip swirling. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumors, comings and goings and, of course, done deals!
TOP STORY: Wirtz is worth more than 130 million euros according to Leverkusen
Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayern Munich are among the top clubs monitoring the Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder. Florian Wirtzaccording to Sport Bild.
It comes despite an agreement that will see the 20-year-old – whose current contract runs until 2027 – stay with the Bundesliga leaders until at least 2025.
His father and advisor Hans-Joachim Wirtz said Florian would stay at the club for a while, but there would be a back door out of the club with father and son not committing 100% to them.
Whether Wirtz's departure comes in 2024 or 2025, a transfer will require more than €130 million, with some in Leverkusen estimating the sum to be as high as €150 million.
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All of Europe's top clubs are monitoring the Germany international's every move to see if they could sign him.
Given that manager Xabi Alonso is very likely to stay put after the summer after Carlo Ancelotti extended his contract at Real Madrid by two years, Wirtz will not be moving for the time being.
Leverkusen are aiming to persuade Wirtz to extend his current contract rather than accept a big offer for him, and they could even make him their first player to come close to a €10m-a-year contract.
However, there are no concrete discussions on a departure or an extension at the moment.
Paper gossip
– Manchester United interested in Bayern Munich central defender Matthijs de Ligt, reports La Gazzetta dello Sport, with the 24-year-old potentially set to change clubs this summer due to his strained relationship with manager Thomas Tuchel. Somewhere else, Florian Plettenberg said that Bayer Leverkusen Odilon Kossounou is also among the centre-backs the Red Devils are monitoring ahead of the summer, with the 23-year-old's impressive performances putting him on the Premier League club's extended list of options.
– Fabrizio Romano said that all reports that Al Hilal had ended Neymar's The contract was described by sources as “fake news.” The Saudi club removed the 31-year-old from its squad so that Renan Lodi may be included as a foreigner due to an injury to Neymar which will keep him out for the rest of the season.
– Juventus, Napoli, Manchester City, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Liverpool have all held talks with the Shakhtar Donetsk attacking midfielder Heorhiy SudakovThe entourage of, reports Calciomercato. Liverpool have been the most serious about the 21-year-old, for whom Shakhtar want €40m, with the Ukrainian club expected to be tough negotiators.
– Middlesbrough striker Morgane Rogers has become Aston Villa's priority for the winter window, with the Premier League club making an approach, as reported by The Athletic. No agreement has been reached, but the 21-year-old and Villa manager Unai Emery are both excited by the prospect of the move, while Villa are also close to completing the signing of the full-back right of 18 years. Kosta Nedeljkovic of Red Star Belgrade.
– Napoli are very interested in the RB Salzburg central defender Oumar Solet and have already reached an agreement with the Austrian club to sign him, reports Foot Mercato. The parties have yet to reach a financial agreement.
