Florian Wirtz isn’t only living up to his billing as Kai Havertz’s successor at Bayer Leverkusen. The 18-year-old Germany international is proving himself to be ahead of the Havertz curve.
Havertz is compared to Wirtz
Havertz was understandably a fan favourite at the BayArena, and when Leverkusen shief Rudi Völler described the youngster as Leverkusen’s best ever player, there was, perhaps surprisingly, little public pushback against the Germany international’s claim. This is a side that have been second in the Bundesliga five times and finished as runners-up to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League final in 2002; a club who have boasted Michael Ballack, Toni Kroos and Arturo Vidal over the years – in Havertz’s very position! But such was King Kai’s impact: Havertz left for Chelsea at the start of September 2020 with 46 goals and 31 assists in 150 appearances in all competitions with Leverkusen under his belt – plundered, for the most part, from midfield.
Kai as the best of last decade for Bayer?
If there is some argument as to whether he is Leverkusen’s greatest ever, there can be very little that Chelsea’s 2020/21 Champions League match-winner is one of the most promising midfielders on the planet. Happily for Leverkusen fans, in Wirtz, Die Werkself have a player on an alarmingly similar trajectory. Havertz won the Fritz Walter Gold medal, an award recognising the most promising youth talents in Germany, at U19 level in 2018. Wirtz has already collected gold at U17 level. Havertz was also Leverkusen’s youngest debutant and goalscorer, until Wirtz came along. The result may not have gone Leverkusen’s way, but the manner of Wirtz’s goal was cause enough for optimism. Havertz missed the game with injury, and Bayer were trailing 4-1 with a minute to play. Wirtz’s head never went down, though, and his consolation strike was one to remember.