It seems rare for a Premier League title-winning side to be so heavily involved in the transfer gossip rumour mill prior to the window opening.
Yet that is the case with Liverpool. Trent Alexander-Arnold is leaving, and Jeremie Frimpong is set to fill that creative gap. Talks have begun with Milos Kerkez to fix the left-back issue. Jarell Quansah, Caoimhin Kelleher, Harvey Elliott, Luis Diaz, and Darwin Nunez have all been linked with moves away.
And if the rumour mill churned out truths alone, then Jonathan Tah, Joao Pedro, Angelo Stiller and Julian Alvarez could all be set to grace Anfield next season. Aside from Frimpong, however, it is the links to Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz that seem to be the strongest.
Florian Wirtz is a luxury signing for Liverpool and the money should be spent elsewhere
Is Florian Wirtz an exceptional footballer? Without doubt. Is Wirtz world-class? Maybe not now, but down the line, he will be. Is Wirtz one of the best in the world at operating in tight spaces, stretching defences and beating defenders one-on-one? Absolutely.
But is he a solution to the issues that sit atop Liverpool’s fix list – right now, it can be argued he is not.
As is the case when the football calendar reaches May, money must be brought into these discussions. Simply put, Liverpool are unlikely to either have the money or the willingness to spend the money that would be required to buy Wirtz, and fix more paramount problems within their squad.
The roar of the Kop as Liverpool lift the Premier League trophy has still not been heard, yet Frimpong’s deal is a mere formality, and Kerkez talks are advancing daily.
With Trent’s move to Madrid, and Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas’ subpar performances, these were fixes that needed to happen quickly and without drama.
Full-backs sorted. Next up, many Liverpool fans would suggest that centre-back and striker reinforcements outweigh the need for creativity in midfield. Especially if that creativity comes at a cost of a cool €150 million.
Alongside Virgil Van Dijk is Ibrahima Konate. A defender of huge quality, but one with injury and contract issues. Joe Gomez and Quansah can then step up, but neither are title-winning quality should Van Dijk or Konate suffer long-term injuries.
Cover of the quality of Jorrel Hato should take priority over Wirtz, regardless of his supreme ability.
The same narrative can be spun when considering Liverpool’s attacking options, particularly given Nunez’s clear struggles in front of goal, Diogo Jota’s injuries, and Diaz’s links to Barcelona and Saudi Arabia.
As per Transfermarkt, Wirtz mainly plays as an attacking midfielder. Liverpool have seen huge success this season, largely thanks to the balance of dynamism, defensive nous, and creativity that comes from Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister. Wirtz may unsettle this balance.
Then there is the problem of Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones. Both have shone and faded away on multiple occasions. Wirtz’s arrival would combat their development even further.
Jones and Elliott may be moved on, as may Diaz. In this case, Wirtz would be an upgrade of significant proportions at both the left-wing and no. 10, but if departures are kept at a low number, then Wirtz’s signing would seem a strange use of large sums of money that Liverpool very rarely throw around.
Slot, has history with ruthless transfers, selling the two players who made the most league appearances in Feyenoord’s title-winning campaign at the end of the season.
A squad upheaval is therefore not impossible.
But even if this were to happen, there are areas that need tweaking before the luxury of adding a soon-to-be world-class midfielder occurs.
That is, unless John W Henry and co. over at FSG have come to realise what many Liverpool fans are hoping for – that Arne Slot is the man to lead Liverpool to an era of domination.
In which case, the deep wallet needs to be emptied.
