'He will go stratospheric' - Where will Wirtz play for Liverpool?

BBC News

12 hours ago

"His name is going to go stratospheric in the next season or two."Going by the words of German football expert Raphael Honigstein, Liverpool's club-record £116m capture of Florian Wirtz could prove one of the deals of the summer.The 22-year-old German attacking midfielder has agreed a deal to sign for the Premier League champions in a package that could eventually be worth a British record £116m."He will bring a lot of class and poise," Honigstein added on BBC Radio 5 Live. "He is more or less the fully-formed article."He has played for Leverkusen and Germany so knows the demands that are on him, but still, he will have to adjust to the pace of the Premier League and the more physical way. "Opponents will try to negate his influence and that might prove a challenge, but he is young enough and good enough. He is not easily intimidated and stands up strong to the challenge. You are buying a super star."Wirtz made his top-flight debut aged 17 for Bayer Leverkusen in May 2020 and just 19 days later he became the then-youngest goalscorer in Bundesliga history against the might of Bayern Munich - a club who were also in contention for his signature this summer.Since making his debut for Leverkusen, Wirtz has provided 44 assists in the Bundesliga, ranking him third of all players - but everyone else in the top five is at least 29 years old, indicating his high ceiling for development.He will become the second player Liverpool have bought from Bayer Leverkusen this summer, with right full-back Jeremie Frimpong having arrived in a £34m deal.The Reds will now turn their attentions to securing a deal for Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez, with talks taking place about a deal of between £45m-£50m."They key factor was, unlike other clubs, Liverpool presented a really thought-out vision," said Honigstein. "A very clear vision of how and where he will play. "At Bayern, it was very difficult to fit him in alongside Jamal Musiala, at Man City they haven't had that central player. I don't think any club came near when representing the ultimate package and vision."But with a multitude of attacking options already at their disposal, where exactly will Wirtz play for Arne Slot's Reds?
'A reshuffled Liverpool' - Where will he play?
Wirtz is already one of the Bundesliga's top performers at the age of 22, largely operating as a number 10, a dynamic playmaker blessed with pace, awareness and the ability to make clever decisions at high speed.He was the most effective dribbler of all Bundesliga players last season, both in terms of volume and accuracy while carrying the ball.Twenty-three of his 31 Bundesliga appearances in 2024-25 came in an attacking midfield/number 10 berth, although he does tend to drift towards the left wing."His best position, and the position that has been earmarked him for him in talks with Arne Slot, is that number 10 central role," said Honigstein. "In a slightly reshuffled Liverpool, more Dutch and more Arne Slot team."He will be the fulcrum in attack. A player who can pick up spaces between the line, has an eye for the killer ball but never loses sight of the goal, he can score goals himself and is very tenacious. A very modern number 10 and a player a lot of clubs wanted."If Wirtz takes up a place in Arne Slot's midfield, playing as a traditional 10, someone has to miss out, especially in the 4-2-3-1 formation used so effectively last season.It's unlikely to be Ryan Gravenberch given his rise into the anchoring role, which means Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister become vulnerable.The two share similar stats, with Szobozslai creating more 'big' chances across the season, serving up more goals and assists, and Mac Allister being the more combative of the two.He could provide an option on the flank, but Liverpool's wide areas appear to be under lock and key. Mohamed Salah holds the right side, while Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo offer variety on the left."Salah will play where he plays and Szobozslai is the most interesting one, as that would be the obvious place for him to play from what we have seen in Germany," said Liverpool fan and Anfield Rap podcaster John Gibb0ns on BBC Radio 5 Live."But Slot loves Szobozslai, he does so much and helps Salah. You would imagine he will try and find a way to get both of them if he can."That alternative could see Wirtz, or Szobozslai, playing in the centre-forward role in a 4-3-3, more as a false nine - a system and formation often used by Slot's former side Ajax, which sees the central striker dropping to receive passes and creating room for runs from elsewhere.It was a style that Roberto Firmino built his legacy with, by dropping from forward positions into areas where he could link play, thus allowing the relentless Salah and Sadio Mane to prosper from wide berths.The output of Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez perhaps points to the central-attacking area being the one where Liverpool lack a man in form."Liverpool with number nines hasn't worked," added Gibbons. "This is an alternative, to instead play someone occupying that role but playing a bit deeper and allowing Salah and Diaz to fill that void. "Paris-St-Germain impressed everyone playing that way. They did it with Ousmane Dembele up top, who is not really a striker, and they had flying full-backs. "We have brought Frimpong in and it looks like Kerkez will be next, so maybe he's looking at PSG and modelling on that."Pick your Liverpool XI for next season below. We have included both Wirtz and Kerkez in the available squad, with both set to be at Anfield next season.
Rise to top has been a family affair
The 31-cap Germany international was influential in Leverkusen's undefeated run to a historic first Bundesliga title in 2023-24, creating an unrivalled 70 chances from open play.It was particularly sweet for a player whose previous campaign - and dreams of playing at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar - were wrecked by recovery from an ACL injury that ruled him out for 10 months.Wirtz's excellent form continued into the 2024-25 season, ranking second of all Bundesliga players for assists (12), while he is highly dangerous when operating between defensive lines - across the past two campaigns he has played more through balls than any other player in the German top flight.His rise to the top of European football has firmly been a family affair. He is the youngest of 10 siblings; his sister Juliane plays for Werder Bremen and his mum Karin is a handball coach.And then there is Florian's father Hans-Joachim, who continues to act as his son's agent while in his early 70s, negotiating an £116m transfer deal at the same time as running an amateur football club in the family's hometown of Pulheim, just outside Cologne."It's a bit different when you are running a Sunday league team basically as opposed to leading negotiations with Liverpool," German football writer Constantin Eckner told 5 Live Sport."It is, of course, not typical in today's world, but it might give you a different sense of how things should work for you in your career, as opposed to when you have like a really cut-throat agent who is looking for the highest profit."