After commanding a fee in the region of £100 million, if you don’t watch the Bundesliga, you might have wondered what all of the Wirtz hype was about.
This young kid from Bayer Leverkusen has the capacity to transform Liverpool’s attack for the better, as a link between the other forwards, a goal scorer, and potentially a Mo Salah replacement.
So here is what Florian Wirtz can bring to Liverpool.
Liverpool’s existing forwards
Premier League Champions Liverpool, already have a number of forwards who were successful last season in their roles.
The most prominent is Salah, who had one of his best seasons, and indeed one of the best seasons ever by a Premier League forward.
It is therefore difficult to imagine how that could get any better.
Wirtz has declared in the press that he is looking forward to playing with Salah, and he showed it in Liverpool’s second pre-season friendly versus Athletic Bilbao.
It was clear to see that the chemistry was there already, as Wirtz continually looked up to find Salah with his impressive array of passing skills.
Wirtz too could also be key to unlocking Cody Gakpo, who is a brilliant goalscorer, but has maybe lacked a true creator through the middle.
Gakpo now arguably finds himself beside two new creators in Wirtz and new signing Hugo Ekitike, who also looked like he had fast-developed an understanding with the other forwards.
Wirtz’s Leverkusen teammate
During his time at Bayer Leverkusen, Wirtz played in a Bayer Leverkusen side that played full throttle football under Xabi Alonso.
He played alongside now fellow Liverpool teammate Jeremie Frimpong, who himself has blistering pace.
You could see the evolution of this Liverpool team during Monday’s second friendly at Anfield, bolstered by the two Leverkusen guys.
Jeremie Frimpong along with Ekitike brought a frightening pace to this Liverpool team on the counter.
While Wirtz can definitely keep up, he is not the guy that’s going to be running behind the lines, but he can play between them and unlock opposition defences.
It allows Salah to bomb on, while Wirtz pulls the strings behind.
This breakneck speed is similar to what we saw from Paris Saint-Germain last season, and hopefully allows Liverpool to compete deep into the Champions League this season and going forward.
What can Wirtz improve upon
The 22-year-old will have to navigate a tough first season in the Premier League, but definitely has the tools with 31 Germany caps and a Bundesliga winners’ medial already under his belt.
Something else to bear in mind is that at least, in time, Wirtz’s numbers may improve as a result of playing with better players.
Wirtz’s statistics from last season are an array of green, particularly across passing and shooting metrics, compared to his peers.
The attacking midfielder has room to improve in the tackling department. Even though he won’t be expected to do a lot of that at Liverpool, tackling is an important part of pressing from the front.
Particularly if Wirtz is playing as a part of the midfield trio, instead of the front three, it will be even more important.
Wirtz is in the 73rd percentile for pass completion percentage, a reasonably good number but not outstanding for his fee and position.
This number is likely lower because Wirtz attempts a lot more high risk passes than his peers, something Liverpool will be without after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure.
This could be important when a defence needs to be opened up with a little extra flair. It’s not something a lot of players can bring.
However, using this at the right moment is an important factor, as high risk passing can look ugly when it goes wrong. We will see how well he manages that.
Florian Wirtz: The Verdict
Florian Wirtz is arguably Liverpool’s biggest coup of the Premier League era.
Getting him through the door alone could be instrumental in Liverpool winning huge titles in the future.
Wirtz has the capacity to take control of Liverpool’s attack, and will likely get a chance to do it when Salah goes to the Africa Cup of Nations.
In the meantime, Wirtz will be the glue in Liverpool’s front three, and especially with Luis Diaz out of the fray, it will be up to him and Ekitike to step up.
Wirtz can definitely do it, and will be a joy to watch at Anfield.