Barcelona keeping tabs on Bayer Leverkusen star midfielder amid interest from rivals | OneFootball

It has been a couple of solid weeks in Barcelona as the Catalans secured progression to the Champions League knockout stages, and beat Atletico Madrid in a crucial La Liga game.

With a slight cash injection guaranteed due to qualification, the transfer rumour mill has begun churning again.

According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the new subject of speculation is Bayer Leverkusen midfield starlet Florian Wirtz.

The 20-year-old has already established himself as one of the top talents in world football, and is highly sought after by a number of big clubs.

Deco knows Wirtz well

Among the interested parties, of course, are also Barcelona, according to Romano in a recent transfer update he posted to YouTube.

Sporting director Deco knows Wirtz since he was a kid, and therefore is capable of making a good assessment of the player and his abilities.

Can the director pull some strings? (Photo by PAU BARRENA/AFP via Getty Images)

Wirtz has already made 136 appearances in his senior career across all competitions for the Leverkusen and shows a great mix of physical prowess and technical talent.

However, it has been previously reported that Leverkusen will set an understandably hefty price on one of their biggest assets.

No transfer in January

Romano says that Leverkusen hold a very clear position that he will go nowhere in January, and any rumours suggesting a winter move are not true.

The player wants to focus completely on finishing this season at Leverkusen and dedicating all his attention to the EUROs in Germany next summer without being subject to any transfer speculation.

The likeliest outcome is that he moves in 2025 after completing another season at Bayer Leverkusen after this one.

As of now, Barcelona’s financial crisis cannot even allow them to dream of a high-profile signing as this one, but if they clinch domestic silverware and make a deeper run in Europe, things could change massively by 2025.

For now, it’s merely a case of surface-level interest.