I don’t know much about him - Boniface explains what Wirtz did that convinced him of his talent

Victor Boniface joined Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2023, after he was considered a promising talent during his time with the Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise.

Before his move, the Nigerian international played against Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Europa League in 2023 but lost on a 5-2 aggregate.

It was the first time Boniface played against Wirtz, whom he claimed he had never known until that day.

Boniface has heaped praise on the German international as a "fantastic player" after getting to know his talent.

The Nigerian forward was unfamiliar with Wirtz until their paths crossed in the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals.

“When we played them with St. Gilloise in the UEFA Europa League, I knew nothing about Flo because I didn’t watch that many Leverkusen games as we were playing too,” Boniface recalled in a chat with Bundesliga.com.

“Before the game, a journalist came to me and said, are you looking forward to the game? I said yes. 

“And he asked me, what do you think of Flo? I said, no disrespect, I don’t really watch Bundesliga. I don’t really know much of him. The guy then said to me, you’re going to know him in the game.”

At Bayer Leverkusen, Boniface and Wirtz have established a strong partnership. Their contributions were key to Xabi Alonso's team achieving their first Bundesliga title, winning the DFB-Pokal last season.