Krishnan Sreekumar
Transfer News: Manchester United fighting Newcastle, Liverpool for Bayer Leverkusen starlet Florian Wirtz despite his ACL injury
According to The Sun, Manchester United are entangled in a race with other Premier League clubs to secure the services of Bayer Leverkusen starlet Florian Wirtz in the summer, despite his serious ACL injury.
The German made his debut for the senior side two years ago, but he has really come to form this season in the Bundesliga, with his performances for the club catching the eye of several other teams from outside Germany.
Apart from United, it is also said that Liverpool and Newcastle United are keen on securing the services of the wunderkind at the end of the season, with PL clubs looking for attacking reinforcements in the summer.
Unfortunately for Wirtz, his stellar season was cut short on the weekend after suffering a serious ACL injury as Leverkusen faced off in the Bundesliga derby against FC Cologne, which incidentally is his former side.
Prem interest for Wirtz
Leverkusen confirmed that the player would be out for several months after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, after he underwent an immediate MRI scan. Most ACL tears see a long recovery process, and it may be the same for the 18-year-old.
Despite this injury setback, the PL clubs, including United, are said to still be keen on the midfielder, who is regarded as Germany’s brightest young star. The clubs have also sent scouts in the past to watch the player in action.
Such is the player’s reputation in Germany that despite being a teenager, he has already made his debut for the national team. His debut in the Bundesliga also came much earlier, with the starlet being sent straight to the senior side despite his young age.
Despite the player being ruled out for several months, possibly beyond the summer, the fact that he has top PL sides like Liverpool and United still interested in him speaks volumes about his talent and ability on the pitch.
However, any move for the German would involve a club having to shell out over £60m for the star. Even for mega-rich teams like Newcastle, they would think twice about spending that amount of money on a player who has suffered a serious injury.
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With a return date unknown for Wirtz, and no concrete knowledge that he will return as the same player he was before his serious knee injury, it may perhaps not be the best idea for us to pursue him in the summer.
It is advisable that we focus our time, energy, and funds on signing a defensive midfielder, a striker to take over the reins from Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani in the long run, and perhaps a quality centre-back.
