Florian Wirtz ‘every bit as good as Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Jamal Musiala', says Joe Cole

Joe Cole has lauded Bayer Leverkusen’s 20-year-old superstar Florian Wirtz after he scored in the UEFA Europa League semi-final first-leg win over Roma.

Wirtz netted the opening goal on the eve of his 21st birthday as Xabi Alonso’s side stretched their unbeaten run to 47 games in all competitions following their 2-0 victory.

After the game, TNT Sports expert Cole was full of praise for Wirtz and compared his talent with the likes of European superstars Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Jamal Musiala.

“Incredible. I’ve watched him three times this year now and he’s blown me away every time,” former England international Cole told TNT Sports.

“He’s got a South American flair with a German efficiency about him. We’ve all heard of Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden, and Musiala. 

“This lad will be new to the British viewers. Let me tell you, he is every bit as talented as those players. He could go on to be anything.”

Only Chelsea forward Palmer (38) has more goals and assists in all competitions this season in Europe than Wirtz (37).

Fellow midfielder Musiala has impressed during Bayern Munich’s UEFA Champions League campaign this season, but Owen Hargreaves has labelled Wirtz’s blistering goal contributions as “PlayStation numbers”.

“Musiala was the best player for Bayern Munich against Real Madrid [on Tuesday] and he has 12 goals and six assists [in all competitions this season] and he’s been absolutely outrageous,” said TNT Sports expert Hargreaves.

“Florian Wirtz has 18 goals and 19 assists. They’re ridiculous numbers, they’re PlayStation numbers!”

Although Leverkusen already have the Bundesliga title wrapped up, there is still plenty to play for.

Alonso’s side have a rare chance to win the treble, with Leverkusen in the German Cup final and now with one foot in the Europa League final.

Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong says “the team is ready” for the challenge and have not slowed down because of their recent title success.

“They [Roma] have to come to our house [for the second leg], to come to our house it’s difficult. We just can’t wait,” Frimpong told TNT Sports.

“The motivation is easy, we’re in tournaments. We’re in the semi-final of the Europa League, in the final of the DFP-Pokal.

“It’s easy to get motivated. With winning the league, everyone thinks we’re going to calm down but there are more trophies out there. The team is ready for it.”

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