Liverpool handed one-off chance to disprove transfer market's biggest myth

Daily Mirror

4 days ago

If Arne Slot can add Hugo Ekitike to his squad, Liverpool's spend on Bundesliga players this summer will total £233m and fans will be quick to point out that it is a risky strategy
Liverpool have already broken from their long-held recruitment strategy in seismic fashion. Now they have an opportunity to disprove or embellish one of the transfer market's great myths as Arne Slot's team jet off on their pre-season tour of Asia.
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With Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong already in the door from Bayer Leverkusen, a reported £87m offer for Eintracht Frankfurt goalscorer Hugo Ekitike could see their spend on players who spent last season in Germany total an eye-watering £233m.
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And that, predictably, has fired up talk of the Bundesliga Tax. Yet again.
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Anfield regulars will already know quite a bit about that theory and at Stamford Bridge it became known as the more alliterative Timo Tax following Werner's travails.
A quick scroll through the full list of arrivals and the expensive flops are quick to jump off the page. Jadon Sancho, Mahmoud Dahoud, Niclas Fullkrug, Orel Mangala, Marcel Sabitzer. You get the idea.
Various analytical minds have produced fascinating data spreadsheets in recent seasons, arguing that the gap in quality between the leagues is between 12 and 17 per cent.
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That suggests fees should be inflated and deflated accordingly and makes it inevitable that
Except the reality, as ever, is a bit more nuanced. And Liverpool in particular have signed well from the Bundesliga in recent years with more success stories than flops.
Since the start of this decade Liverpool have signed eight players from the Bundesliga, including Wirtz and Frimpong. Four of the other six played a major role in last season's title win - while the other two, Thiago Alcantara and Ozan Kabak, are no longer at the club.
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It would be remiss to ignore that Manchester City have also done rather well with deals for Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Omar Marmoush, Leroy Sane.
But the problem in 2025's era of more and more desperate social media hyperbole is that for Wirtz, Frimpong and, more likely than not, Ekitike, the pressure will be immediate.
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A slow start and the comparisons and catcalls will come. Liverpool's recruitment department will be chastised for overpaying on Bundesliga talent when everyone knows the majority can't hack the intensity of English football.
The players will be told by anonymous accounts on X and Instagram that they should head back to the Ruhr or Bavaria.
Do well and the Bundesliga Tax argument will, hopefully, fall away quietly.
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