Xabi Alonso believes Florian Wirtz is one of the key reasons he will face Liverpool in the opposing dugout on Wednesday evening.
Wirtz starred under Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen, helping the Spaniard guide the German club to their first Bundesliga title.
The 23-year-old joined Liverpool for £116million in the summer of 2025, while Alonso moved to Real Madrid before taking charge of Chelsea earlier this year.
The pair will reunite at Anfield for the Carabao Cup fourth-round clash, with Florian Wirtz finding form in recent weeks despite an ankle knock.
Alonso said: “I can only speak about my time with Flo in Bayer Leverkusen and for sure one of the main reasons for me being here is the time that I spent with him in Leverkusen.
“He was a special player, he helped me so much, I learned so much from him and now that he’s in Liverpool I’m following him and we know that the next step is always an interesting one and he’s getting there.”
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