When Florian Wirtz scored two goals in eight minutes against The Netherlands in the U21 Euro Championship semi-finals (the first being the fastest goal ever scored in tournament history), heads turned. But followers of German football have been well acquainted with the Bayer Leverkusen youngster for a while now.
Making his debut for ‘Die Werkself’ in late May 2020 during a 4–1 win over Werder Bremen, Wirtz has gone on to make nearly 50 appearances for the club, netting nine goals and adding eight assists to his name. Wirtz has cemented himself in the starting eleven for Leverkusen, making 29 appearances in the league this season and accumulating over 2200 minutes.
Losing your star creative player for a mouth-watering €85m would usually see clubs dip into the market and reinvest in that position — but as seen many times before in the Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen had Kai Havertz’s heir waiting patiently in the background for his breakthrough.
Arriving from Köln for a reported €200,000, Wirtz quickly impressed for the U17 side, contributing to five goals in his first four games. It wasn’t long before Peter Bosz called the young prodigy up to the first team.
So, what has made the 18 year old receive so much praise and attention? This report will attempt to discover what makes the Pulheim born midfielder just so good, and why you can expect to see his name a lot more over the coming years.
Play Style
Although most at home in the typical number ‘10’ spot, Wirtz can be deployed anywhere along the three behind the striker, as shown by his performances for the Germany U21 squad, where he often starts on the right and drifts into the centre.
This season, Wirtz has started to show a lot more desire to get involved in his team’s play than seen in his previous campaign. Finding pockets in the right half space and roaming in between the lines of the opposition defence and midfield.
Wirtz heatmaps from the 19/20 season shows a player who primarily hugged the touchline, who was starting to ease himself into the role of creator by venturing into the attacking third. This can also be chalked down to Wirtz often playing at RW during the 19/20 season.
A shift into a more central role this season has seen Wirtz operating between the lines, showing a willingness to travel deeper to provide passing options. Gaining more minutes and importance in the side as the campaign went on a big factor in his confidence.
Strengths
As expected with a creative midfielder, Wirtz really shines on the passing front.
Leverkusen’s number 27 averages 4.17 progressive passes per 90, a stat which (out of all teenagers in the league with over fifteen 90s played) only Alphonse Davies betters with 5.46. Wirtz also makes 2 key passes per 90, topping this metric out of all teenagers in the league.
For someone of his age, these numbers are quite remarkable, and will only improve as he develops.
While Wirtz’s movement and intelligence finds him in space a lot, his quick feet and thinking allows him to escape pressure at an impressive rate. When under said pressure, Wirtz typically looks to create some space with either a quick burst of pace or by shuffling the ball away from the defender. Once the space is there, he’ll more often than not lay the ball off to a teammate rather than looking to progress the ball through a carry.
With 9.92 passes under pressure per 90, the Bayer creator ranks in the top 3% of all attacking midfielders / wingers in the European top five leagues.
That’s not to say his ability to carry the ball up the pitch is lacking — with 6.29 progressive carries and 2.08 carries into the final third per 90, Wirtz numbers certainly aren’t bad, but improving on his movement after escaping the press will only add another string to his bow.
A side to the young Germans game that often goes unnoticed is his willingness to drop deep and pick up loose balls, as well as to press the opposition midfielders. With 7.93 ball recoveries and 20 pressures per 90, this ranks Wirtz in the top 8% and 14% across all attacking midfielders in the top five leagues respectively. This is important to a Leverkusen side who look to progress the ball quickly after turnovers, with fast and mobile wide players in Karim Bellerabi and Moussa Diaby, Wirtz’s energy to win the ball back deep gives him a lot of room ahead of him to play his teammates through.
Weaknesses
Wirtz is often adventurous with his passing, and whilst this provides his team with a constant progressive orchestrator, it sometimes leads to turnovers on the counter. This is more often than not when Wirtz looks to quickly play the ball through with his weaker left foot, rather than shifting the ball to his preferred right and making a more accurate pass.
His willingness to use both feet is commendable at his age, but more work on perfecting the timing and power of his left, especially after his passes under pressure which he favours so much, will benefit his teammates playing wide to receive his through balls on a more constant basis.
Although he possesses a quick burst of pace when required, Wirtz is not rapid over long distances. Putting this in weaknesses seems harsh, as his movement and tricky feet when closed down overcome any problems physically, but it is something to take note of. With a team full of fast wing focused players as mentioned before, Wirtz could work on his long ball accuracy to reach said players running in behind.
The Future
It would have been easy for Leverkusen to spend some of the Kai Havertz money on a new creative outlet, but they deserve massive credit for giving Wirtz the chance to prove himself.
The BayArena is the perfect place for him to continue his development — constant game time and a huge level of trust in the 18 year old has helped his development so far, and it’ll continue to benefit him as the club continues to push for a champions league spot.
Whilst I don’t fully agree with the comparison of Wirtz and Havertz, I do think Florian can take notes of what his predecessor did in his own development. Staying in Germany throughout his late teenage years, and only moving when it feels like the logical next step to improve his game.
For now, Florian Wirtz should continue to turn heads and impress those closely watching him. With a World Cup only two years away and a new crop of Germans itching to make the step up, maybe a national squad call up isn’t too far of the horizon.
Stats courtesy of FBref.com
