Liverpool and Manchester City both look like they’ll have busy summers on their hands, and they have inevitably been linked with many of the same players. There is one player though that the Reds should strive to beat their rivals to.
Arne Slot and Richard Hughes have kept things quiet so far on the transfer front. Federico Chiesa was the only new arrival last summer and Giorgi Mamardashvili will arrive in a few months, but there were areas of the team that could have done with one more body. That has become clearer as the season has wore on, despite the Reds looking set to claim the Premier League title.
The policy, though, appears to be that Liverpool will only sign players who it is sure will make a substantial difference. If those are not available, it will not make any move that is likely only to offer a marginal improvement.
This summer, however, a true game-changer is likely to be on the market. Every top club in the world will be looking to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen — and Liverpool should be right in the mix for a playmaker who is fast becoming my favorite player.
Manchester City has already made its intentions clear, with Wirtz being viewed as a possible replacement for the outgoing Kevin De Bruyne, according to The Athletic. Bayern Munich is also interested in a player who has taken the Bundesliga by storm.
Wirtz scored 18 goals last season and assisted another 20 times as Xabi Alonso’s side won a double; the exact kind of numbers that Liverpool should be looking for from its most advanced midfield player. Combining Philippe Coutinho-like silkiness — the exact kind of quick-footed dribbling that is magical to watch — with ruthless numbers in the final third, Wirtz is one of the best number 10s in the world already — and he has not long turned 21.
(Image: Jörg Schüler)
Defensa Central reported earlier this season that Liverpool would be prepared to go “all out” to sign Wirtz and BILD’s Christian Falk, writing for Caught Offside, suggested the decision has already been made for the player to leave Leverkusen after this campaign. You only need to listen to Alonso eulogizing about him to know he is, quite simply, a magical player to watch.
Like with Jude Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouameni, Wirtz is already world-class but still has the best years of his career ahead of him. This time, though, Liverpool should have a chance of sealing a deal.
Real Madrid would be another obvious destination for Wirtz, as ever, but there is no obvious place for him in the stacked roster that Carlo Ancelotti can call upon. Another number 10 would be near-impossible to fit into the starting XI regularly because of the quality of the likes of Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and the rest.
Bayern Munich is another option but that wouldn’t seem like much of a step up for Wirtz. Vincent Kompany’s side looks set to regain the Bundesliga title, but Bayer Leverkusen has already shown it can better the Bavarians; a move outside of Germany would further his career more.
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With Barcelona and Serie A clubs’ finances restricted and PSG and Ligue 1 having a limited level of appeal, it would seem likely that Wirtz’s next step — like so many of the best players in the world these days — is either Real Madrid or the Premier League. If it is, he would fit in perfectly at Liverpool and the Reds should be doing everything in their power to make it happen.
Of course, if City does have its sights set on him, then that will prove to be a big hurdle, especially with a price tag of $164 million being spoken about. There is though the small matter of those charges for alleged financial breaches that needs resolving, which could have an impact on the plans of Pep Guardiola’s side.
Liverpool has shown in the past that it is willing to spend big when the right profile is up for grabs. Opportunities don’t come much bigger than Wirtz.
An original version of this article was first published on October 20, 2024.
