Surprised? Well, me too. I had a feeling Liverpool were planning a big summer. I had a feeling Liverpool wanted to land at least one marquee name for the final third, too. But what I didn’t expect was Florian Wirtz.
I viewed the Bayer Leverkusen talisman as untouchable. Destined to remain in his homeland by joining Bayern Munich, like every other German who shows any degree of promise. If not, Real Madrid or Manchester City. The usual.
But no, it seems Wirtz will play his football at Anfield next season. I hope you’re smiling as you read this post. He’s magic. Poetry in motion. You’re in for a treat.
Alright, so as always, let’s start with the player in isolation. I like him, and you should too. If you don’t, I recommend taking up a different sport. Golf, cricket, padel, whatever. Just not football.
Wirtz is a special breed. An artist, albeit one who gets really angry whenever somebody steals his brushes. He’s good at virtually everything that we consider to be valuable from a scouting perspective. Ticks every box, and then some.
Analysing players usually consists of carefully weighing up their strengths and weaknesses. Like, Jeremie Frimpong is really fast, but he’s also very lightweight. Kylian Mbappé is seriously dangerous, but he doesn’t defend. That sort of thing.
Well, the lack of downsides to Wirtz’s game is what makes him unique. Good at tons of stuff, and there’s no catch. He’s a sea of green lights. There’s hardly a single red flag in sight.
This guy can pretty much do the lot in possession. Like, who progresses the ball towards goal by making passes and receiving them? The answer is hardly anyone. You’re either Pedri from deeper areas, or Mohamed Salah higher up. Doing both is rare, but Wirtz is part of that select group.
He’s an expert at moving you closer to goal. In fact, I’d argue his biggest perk — and there’s lots of them — is probably finding pockets of space in congested areas. His happy place is between the lines. That’s where you want him.
Wirtz depicts shades of David Silva, Thomas Müller and Mesut Özil in that sense. He likes to float, gliding around the final third until he finds enough space to reveal your secrets. Watch him. Don’t blink, otherwise you’ll miss it.
The extent to which Wirtz dribbles has been a bit of a surprise to me. He ranked seventh across Europe’s big five leagues for successful take-ons per 90 this season. But he doesn’t play like your typical trickster, no. The large majority of those guys position themselves on the flanks.
Jérémy Doku comes to mind when I think of a dribbler. Great acceleration, reaches his top speed in a second, engages in one-on-one battles in the wide areas. He placed top of the list.
But Wirtz racks up his numbers in a different way. He plays closer to the centre, and decieves his opponents by weaving through their challenges. This guy loves to feint.
So you’ve got an illusive dribbler who will find ways to aid your ball progression, great, but what about the headline stuff? Well, Wirtz delivers with his fair share of returns, too.
Indeed, across his past two Bundesliga seasons, he’s posted a total of 41 non-penalty goals and assists. Over the same period, Dominik Szoboszlai has accumulated 17 in the Premier League.
Wirtz seems to be a plus finisher — which will be music to the ears of the supporters who have grown fed up with Darwin Núñez — with the German overperforming his xG by a total of 14.1 goals since his debut, excluding domestic cups.
And he’s always involved. Here’s a mad one for you. Wirtz has posted over 80 touches per 90 in two consecutive Bundesliga seasons now. That’s insane for a forward. Genuinely mental.
Like, for context, only 12 players in the Premier League cleared the 80-touch bar this season. Virgil van Dijk, Cristian Romero, Mateo Kovačić, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joško Gvardiol, Tosin Adarabioyo, Manuel Akanji, William Saliba, Levi Colwill, Reece James, Kyle Walker and Joachim Andersen. Notice a theme?
A multifunctional forward who knits everything together. A handyman for the final third. A football polymath. Expressive, creative and borderline poetic with the ball at his feet.
So the player as an individual is clearly good. Elite, even. If you still don’t recognise that, please leave. The bus runs every five minutes. For those who are sticking around, the big question with Wirtz is why Liverpool are buying him. What’s the plan?
Well, given everything I’ve covered, he’s very much a player for the middle in my view. That means he’s wasted on the flanks. Imagine Roberto Firmino out there. Silva, Müller, Özil. You want these guys inside the block.
Now, that’s not to say Wirtz won’t be free to roam. Of course he will. But I'd be truly shocked if Arne Slot deployed him in place of Cody Gakpo or Luis Díaz on the left wing.
I think Wirtz can take the spot Diogo Jota has occupied this term. You can call him a striker, false nine, whatever. But Wirtz has the qualities to connect everything from there, with Salah and Gakpo — or Díaz — stretching the pitch either side of him.
And as a front two on the defensive end, you really aren’t getting much better than Wirtz and Szoboszlai. Two midfielders in disguise. Dogs. Workhorses. Even despite their technical quality.
There’s also plenty of room for rotation. Let’s say Alexis Mac Allister needs a break. Szoboszlai takes his place in deeper midfield, Wirtz becomes the number ten, and Jota starts. As many options as you want.
If Wirtz gets used as a ten more often — given Liverpool are being linked to a few strikers of late — I’d also be fine with that. The priority is deploying the German wonderkid close to the final third, and in the centre of the pitch. If Slot can establish that dynamic — regardless of his position — Wirtz will be just fine.
There’s lots of ways you can make it happen. Maybe you play with two tens. Maybe you play with a false nine and a deep-lying midfield trio, like the glory days under Jürgen Klopp. You can add rotations into your possession game, too.
We saw an example against Brighton and Hove Albion recently. Ryan Gravenberch dropped into the defensive line to form a back three, allowing Kostas Tsimikas and Conor Bradley to drift up and inside, forming a makeshift diamond shape in the centre.
In that scenario, Wirtz would be perfectly suited to the role at the tip of the shape. But that’s the key concept, don’t deviate from it. Keep him between the lines. Keep him connected to the final third. And keep him relatively central. The rest will fall into place.
Paying over £100m for a single player is certainly a risk, but Wirtz has the skill set to glue Liverpool’s attack together for the next decade. He’ll score. And he’ll assist. But his superpower is improving the collective by contributing across the board.
The Reds will pass and move to the rhythm of their soon-to-be most expensive signing ever. The only player in the final third counting the beat. The poet behind it all.
Tra la la la la.
Such an exciting signing for a number of reasons:
- First, the best player available on the market is choosing to play for our club (a sign that outside perception of the "LFC 2.0 Project" is very favorable).
- Next, Wirtz replacing Diogo/Darwin improves the XI immediately, the Champions getting better! (we need to retain Lucho to sustain that improvement but it's a big improvement).
- It also improves the midfield which is very tough to do. As Josh points out, when Macca or Ryan need a rest, Wirtz can play the 10 with Dom at the 8 and Macca or Ryan in the deepest role.
- Lastly, Wirtz also seems to lay the cornerstone of our attack for the post-Mo era (2027-28+). He just turned 22 and, as Josh described, has it all as a central attacker (whether false 9, or AM). It'll be interesting to watch Hughes build the future squad around him.
This excellent piece has reminded me that Mac Allister was highlighted as an excellent Zone 14 player when Liverpool signed him (eg https://x.com/pranav_m28/status/1678090344016105476). He gets the ball into Wirtz, who can pick out any of the forwards or the very advanced full-backs. Sounds good to me.