Xabi Alonso 'following' Florian Wirtz and makes major claim about Liverpool £116m man

Alonso reunites with former Leverkusen player Wirtz at Anfield; Chelsea manager praises midfielder's impact and says he's following his progress at Liverpool.

Xabi Alonso will face his former club Liverpool on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup fourth round, where he'll come up against Florian Wirtz, the attacking midfielder he managed at Bayer Leverkusen. Wirtz joined Liverpool for £116 million in summer 2025 after helping Alonso guide Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title. The 23-year-old has had an inconsistent start to his Liverpool career but has recently found form and is expected to be available despite an ankle knock.

Alonso, who left Leverkusen to become Real Madrid head coach before taking over at Chelsea, spoke warmly of his former player ahead of the fixture. "He was a special player, he helped me so much, I learned so much from him," Alonso said. "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."

Chelsea will be without striker Joao Pedro on Wednesday after he sustained a thigh injury during training; Alonso indicated the injury will sideline him for several weeks.