Liverpool target Florian Wirtz has a surprise connection with one Arsenal player.
The Germany international’s future was up in the air for a while, with clubs like Manchester City and Bayern Munich battling for his signature.
However, once Arne Slot’s side entered the race, Wirtz decided that he wanted to join Liverpool over any other club this summer.
TBR Football can reveal that Wirtz to Liverpool will be completed in the coming days, and Reds fans will be interested to know who the playmaker’s idol was growing up.
Florian Wirtz once said that Arsenal star Kai Havertz is his role model
Kai Havertz was Bayer Leverkusen’s golden boy before Florian Wirtz.
The now-26-year-old made his debut for the German club when he was just 17. He was fantastic there and produced several magical moments.
Havertz’s brilliance at Leverkusen attracted some of the biggest clubs in the world, and Chelsea eventually ended up signing him.
The Blues paid an eye-watering £71 million in the summer of 2020, and that was when Wirtz stepped up and filled Havertz’s shoes at the BayArena.
In an interview with BILD in the following year, Wirtz was asked if Havertz was his role model before he left Leverkusen for Chelsea.
The Liverpool-bound midfielder replied: “He still is (my role model). In training, I watched him, how he plays in front of goal and how he plays between the spaces.”
When asked about replacing Havertz, he said: “It gives me an incentive to be even better than Kai. I always want to be the best and I hate to lose.”
Florian Wirtz broke two records set by Kai Havertz at Bayer Leverkusen
Havertz was the biggest name in Germany when he was coming through the ranks at Bayer Leverkusen, and there was a feeling that it would be difficult to replace him.
However, Wirtz stepped up and delivered without any trouble.
The incoming Liverpool signing first broke Havertz’s record of being the youngest player to feature in a Bundesliga game for Leverkusen.
Then, Wirtz broke another record held by the now-Arsenal man and became the youngest scorer in the club’s history.
It will now be interesting to see how Wirtz will fare in the Premier League in his debut season, given that Havertz had his struggles when he first came to England.