Newcastle United ‘send scout to watch Bayer Leverkusen wonderkid Florian Wirtz’ as Premier League strugglers look to steal a march on rivals for £84m teenager after Saudi-backed takeover
- Newcastle reportedly sent a scout to watch German teenager Florian Wirtz
- The Bayer Leverkusen starlet, 18, has attracted interest from a host of clubs
- Wirtz has scored six goals this season and is valued at £84million by his club
- German outlet Sport Bild say scout Geoff Lockhart cast his eye over Wirtz
Newcastle United have reportedly sent scout Geoff Lockhart to Germany to cast his eye over Bayer Leverkusen wonderkid Florian Wirtz.
The 18-year-old has attracted interest from a host of Europe’s top clubs, with Manchester United and Arsenal linked with moves to bring the German international to the Premier League.
Wirtz has made a stunning start to the 2021-22 campaign, scoring six goals and providing six assists in 12 outings for Leverkusen thus far.
Newcastle United reportedly sent a scout to watch Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz
And according to German outlet Sport Bild, Newcastle sent club scout, Lockhart, to Cologne to take a look at Wirtz during Leverkusen’s 2-2 draw in the Bundesliga last weekend.
Wirtz was named in the starting line up by boss Gerardo Seoane and was withdrawn in the 77th minute to be replaced by Exequiel Palacios.
Newcastle have been linked with a vast number of high-profile names following their £305million takeover earlier this month.
The 18-year-old has attracted interest from a number of top clubs due to his outstanding form
The Germans value Wirtz at £84m and are confident they can keep him until at least 2023
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) now owns an 80 per cent majority stake in the club and hold ambitious plans to take the club to the summit of European football.
However, a move for Wirtz may not be in the pipeline just yet, with Bild reporting that Leverkusen have no plans to sell the youngster – valued at €100million (£84m) – until 2023 at the earliest.
The German outlet claims that a number of clubs have sent scouts to assess Wirtz this season, including Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham, Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid and Barcelona.
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