Bayern Munich director of sport Max Eberl has said claims that Florian Wirtz is definitely set to join Bayern Munich are wide of the mark.
The Bayer Leverkusen star’s future has been the subject of great intrigue in the last week, with reports initially stating a summer to Bayern was all but sewn up. Then claims in the media stated Wirtz was in England to speak to Manchester City on Tuesday, before reports the following day indicated Wirtz actually discussed a possible transfer with Liverpool’s representatives.
Liverpool.com understands Wirtz did not meet with either Premier League side this week, while the prospect of the 22-year-old remaining in Germany beyond the summer looks most likely.
Speaking on Friday, ahead of Bayern’s final match of the season against Hoffenheim this weekend, Eberl said no agreement has been reached between the new German champions and Wirtz.
“What am I supposed to say about that? Florian Wirtz and his family are free to visit friends in Manchester, Liverpool or wherever, in Madrid. I don’t know,” the club executive responded when asked about Wirtz’s movements in recent days.
“And of course we are confronted with that because it’s said that Florian Wirtz will join Bayern – nobody knows that. Florian Wirtz is under contract at Bayer Leverkusen for now, that is the current state of affairs.
“And all the speculation – a deal is agreed, when is the signing, when is the medical and so on – that’s what we have to ignore because we are doing the job, we are doing the work and maybe know the well-found facts a little better than speculation or any talk around him. And not letting this affect [our work] is the art.”
(Image: Jörg Schüler/Bayer 04 Leverkusen via Getty Images)
Reports in Germany continue to claim Liverpool is very much in the mix to sign Wirtz, who has two years remaining on his contract at Leverkusen. A reported €150 million ($168M) asking price would likely put Liverpool off, despite the Reds’ long-standing interest in the player.
Meanwhile, Eberl also confirmed there is a deadline for Leroy Sane to agree a new contract at the Allianz Arena, with his current deal set to expire this summer.
(Image: (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images))
“Leroy and his agency know what we want and they know the conditions. We hope he decides for us.
“There’s a lot of speculation in Munich, and everyone has an opinion,” he added.
“It obviously doesn’t make things easy. Things are obviously different this summer with the Club World Cup. I try to block it out.
“We need to let speculation wash over us and go about our work calmly. That’s what we’ve done with recent contract extensions and want to do the same with future transfers.”
