Exclusive: Influential figure behind Florian Wirtz's career explains what makes him special | OneFootball

For Florian Wirtz, football was his destiny.

He comes from a family of athletes. His brother had played in the lower leagues of Germany, meanwhile, his older sister Juliane also represented Bayer Leverkusen and currently plies her trade for Werder Bremen.

At a young age, Wirtz attracted the attention of a number of European scouts after his performances for Cologne's U17 team. He became the youngest ever player to win the German U17 Championships, playing a key role in defeating Borussia Dortmund in the final.

Anfield Watch understands, Liverpool had scouts in attendance already back at that game and the club considered signing Wirtz prior to his move to Bayer Leverkusen in the aftermath of his decision to leave Cologne.

At the time, Wirtz wanted to continue his studies. So, he opted for Leverkusen, a club that was relatively nearby his family home.

Back in 2021, I had the privilege of speaking to Markus Daun for a piece for my blog First Time Finish. Daun was his former coach at Cologne, who then moved to Leverkusen and had a role to play in his arrival at the club.

Daun spoke really highly of Wirtz at the time which I can now exclusively share on Anfield Watch.

"I first saw him play when he was 12 or 13," Daun recalled. "His incredible talent was immediately visible. Then I became his coach at the U17 team. When he first joined the team he was just 14.

"I remember we played a friendly against the South Korean national team. I brought him on for the last twenty minutes. The game was already 6-1 in favour of South Korea.

"Maybe it was unfair of me to bring him on but it was a good opportunity for him. I told him to play it simple.

"In the end, I was very disappointed with the way the team played, but his performance in the last twenty minutes put a smile on my face. He played very bravely and was able to adapt to the game quickly.'"He has an incredibly clean technique," Daun said.

His coach lauded Wirtz for his ability to read the game and predict what will happen.

"Everything he does is tooth and nail. He controls the ball perfectly without having to watch the ball. In addition, he can process the game quicker and evaluate situations on the go. He can anticipate the next 2-3 steps before they even happen."

This gives you the definition of the type of player Wirtz is. He's an archetypal no.10 who can operate in the wide areas as well and his flair and vision is a level above everyone else.

No one has more goal-creating actions in the Bundesliga than Florian Wirtz (25) this season. Only Michael Olise (31) has created more big chances (17) than him ad only Olise (0.49 per 90) averages more xA than him (0.37 per 90).

But Wirtz is not just a creative player. He's also a workhorse.

"He has incredibly good athletic ability, extreme endurance and good fitness. I think that’s the basis of his ability and one of his strengths. One he performs week in week out," Daun said.

"This was the case at a younger age. In terms of his athleticism he was already a professional even back with me. He never wanted to lose a single match in training either. He always wanted to continue training when I said the workout was over, he still wanted to continue. You could not stop him."

The numbers reflect that this season. Wirtz ranks second among Bayer Leverkusen players for sprints (832) in the Bundesliga this season, behind only Jeremie Frimpong (1021).

He also covers the third most distances in the Bundesliga (11.6km per 90) for Bayer Leverkusen.

So, he brings you flair, vision and energy.

And on top of that a brilliant mentality. According to Daun Wirtz wanted nothing more than to become a professional football and he did everything in his power to achieve his mission.

"This boy wanted only one thing in his whole life: to be a professional football player. Football is his life. It was a great experience to watch him work in training and see how he wanted to improve day by day," Daun said.

"We spoke a lot about certain things, we also quarrelled, but we both wanted to achieve the same goal. In the end, we always agreed that he was going to be a professional football player. Both of us, but especially he, did everything to achieve that."

Football Transfer's Bundesliga expert Ronan Murphy seems to believe the Reds will be getting a world-class player.