Real Madrid have been one of the handful of elite clubs most frequently linked to Bayer Leverkusen superstar Florian Wirtz, and since former Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso is his coach and has his eyes on the Madrid managerial job after Carlo Ancelotti, there’s a school of thought that says the Merengues are the favorites to sign the German international.
However, there is another school of thought within the Spanish capital that says Real Madrid should not spend 100-150 million euros on a No. 10 when they already brought in the very talented and successful trio of Jude Bellingham, Arda Guler, and Brahim Diaz in summer 2023.
All three men played key roles in Real Madrid hoisting the La Liga and Champions League trophies last season. Although Bellingham has moved back to a No. 8 role in a 4-3-3 following the signing of new striker Kylian Mbappe, Guler is still best as a 10 and having continued trouble finding minutes despite his obvious talent.
Guler was one of the best players at Euro 2024 for the Turkish national team and is a sensation, scoring 6 goals in just 373 La Liga minutes last season. Real Madrid believe he can play any position for them, including in midfield, which he has done so ably.
So, then, why are Real Madrid interested in clogging up their midfield further with a more expensive, older major talent in Wirtz? According to Diario AS, it may be because Real Madrid view Florian Wirtz as a Luka Modric replacement.
Firstly, let’s get this out of the way. There is no replacing Modric. He is a 39-year-old who is still playing at a world-class level for both Real Madrid and Croatia, starting games for the biggest club in the world at an age where it is unheard of for an all-out, box-to-box midfielder to still be playing at this level.
Wirtz is an elite attacking midfielder with five goal contributions in six Bundesliga matches already this season, and he is one of the most talented young players in Germany ever; he’s already surpassing Mario Gotze as a phenom.
But he isn’t as good defensively or progressively, even if he’s close. At least, he hasn’t shown that same ball-winning ability as Modric. Maybe it is a writer at AS getting ahead of himself, or maybe Real Madrid do see something about Wirtz that makes them think he is a world-class 8 and not just a 10.
There are some traits there. Wirtz is very intelligent and can create from deeper areas. He is so good at dribbling and skipping past defenders with a work rate that could translate to the 8.
Modric can’t play forever, even if you wouldn’t bet against him playing past 40 at this rate. Wirtz can come in and take those minutes alongside Eduardo Camavinga, Fede Valverde, Bellingham, and Guler, giving Real Madrid four No. 8 center midfielders.
Aurelien Tchouameni is a 6 and Camavinga can be a 6 or an 8. Fede is in the 6/8 range, too. Meanwhile, Bellingham, Guler, and Wirtz would be 8/10 hybrids, with Guler and Wirtz leaning more to the 10s.
But if Real Madrid are that confident in Wirtz as a Modric replacement, maybe that’s why they’d think it would be worth it to spend 100 million euros on him despite already having Guler around. For them, Guler is an attacking X-Factor while Wirtz will be a bread-and-butter CM.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other major outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.