Why Liverpool Target Florian Wirtz Would Be Worth Record Fee ...Middle East

With Liverpool reportedly looking to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, we dive into the talented German’s best data.

After a quiet summer in the transfer market last year, Liverpool have already been more active this time round, and we’re barely into June.

Federico Chiesa was the only arrival from Juventus late in the window, while a deal was also sealed for Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia, but the Georgian goalkeeper will not officially join the Reds until this summer.

He will join up with Jeremie Frimpong, who has been signed from Bayer Leverkusen, but there may also be another addition in the not-too-distant future. And a rather significant one, too.

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Many expected Florian Wirtz to end up at Bayern Munich, including the Bundesliga champions themselves it seems, but the player has reportedly decided his next move should be to the Premier League and Anfield.

Wirtz has been one of the best players in Europe in recent years, and it seems Liverpool will need to smash their own transfer fee record, and indeed, the record for a British team, with Bayer Leverkusen supposedly looking for around £126 million (€150m) for the 22-year-old attacking midfielder.

That is an eye-watering amount of money, but the fact Liverpool only spent around £10m on Chiesa last summer coupled with the riches that come with winning the Premier League, seems to have allowed them to come to the table for a superstar addition and strengthen from a position of strength.

Wirtz signed for Leverkusen from FC Köln at the age of 16, making his first-team debut just two weeks after his 17th birthday. He scored against Bayern three weeks later to become the youngest ever Bundesliga goalscorer at the time at just 17 years and 34 days old.

He had an impressive return of eight goals and seven assists in 38 games in his first full season in 2020-21, and followed that up with 10 goals and 14 assists in 31 games in 2021-22, though that campaign was ultimately cut short.

Wirtz tore the ACL in his left knee in March 2022, coincidentally against former club Köln, and did not return until January 2023. After a bad injury like that, there were concerns about how much it might impact him.

As it turned out, not much at all. Wirtz managed 12 goal involvements (4 goals, 8 assists) in 25 games in the second half of the 2022-23 season, with only Frimpong and Moussa Diaby (10 each) recording more assists than him for Leverkusen in that entire season despite Wirtz only being available for half of it.

By the time he returned from injury, Xabi Alonso was head coach, and what happened in the 2023-24 campaign under the Spaniard will never be forgotten. Leverkusen won their first ever Bundesliga title, becoming the first team to go unbeaten over an entire league season in the German top flight. They also won the DFB-Pokal, and reached the Europa League final, where a defeat to Atalanta was their only loss in any competition across the entire campaign.

Wirtz was a big part of that success, with 18 goals and 19 assists in 47 games, proving he was well and truly over his knee issues. In fact, he was the only player from Europe’s top five leagues to record at least 16 goals and 16 assists in all competitions in 2023-24.

This season wasn’t quite as epic, but then the Werkself had set a very high bar for themselves. They came second to Bayern, who also eliminated them from the Champions League at the last-16 stage. Wirtz still managed 16 goals and 14 assists in all competitions, with only Mohamed Salah (18) and Lamine Yamal (13) recording more than his 12 assists from open play among players from Europe’s top five leagues.

There was an anticipation that Wirtz could move on this summer, ready for the next step of his career, and it seems that step could be to Merseyside to play for Arne Slot.

He has become a central player for Germany as well, scoring twice in five games at Euro 2024 last year. His late goal to force extra-time against eventual champions Spain in the quarter-finals at 21 years and 63 days made him Germany’s youngest ever goalscorer in a European Championship knockout match. He followed that up with three goals in six games in the UEFA Nations League group stage.

What’s clear from his numbers is how forward-thinking he is, both on the ball and when receiving it. Wirtz ranked eighth for progressive passes in the Bundesliga this season (155) – a completed open-play pass in the attacking two-thirds of the pitch that moved the ball at least 25% closer to the goal. He also received the third most progressive passes with 232, which was at least 57 more than any of the seven players who played more.

That follows on from the season prior, when Wirtz both made and received the third most progressive passes in the German top flight, which is huge for a number 10 who practically lives between the lines. It shows how good he already is at a young age in terms of game intelligence, knowing how to progress the ball forward effectively.

Upon receiving between the lines, Wirtz is known for his creativity. He fashioned 2.1 chances from open play per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga this season (min. 1,000 minutes), more than any of his Leverkusen teammates, while only Salah averaged more for Liverpool (2.3) in the Premier League.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold leaving his boyhood club, there have been concerns raised about the influence the right-back had on the team and how that will be replaced. He may play in a very different position, but Wirtz and Alexander-Arnold closely mirrored each other this season in league football for touches (86.9 and to 87.9) and passes per 90 (60.8 to 61.2). However, Wirtz outdid the now Real Madrid full-back in terms of chances created from open play per 90 (2.1 to 1.6) and expected assists per 90 (0.36 to 0.28).

Wirtz likes to advance the ball via carries too – moving the ball five metres or more – making the fourth most carries in the Bundesliga this season (549), while only Wolfsburg’s Mohammed Amoura (6) had more than his five assists following a carry. He also attempted (165) and completed (82) the most dribbles in the Bundesliga in 2024-25.

As for his shooting, his impressive scoring record for an attacking midfielder of his age could be down to his accuracy. Wirtz was one of only three Bundesliga players who attempted at least 50 shots this season to hit the target with at least half of them (39 of 78 – 50%).

Despite Leverkusen’s disappointing Champions League exit at the hands of Bayern, Wirtz rose to the occasion during that European campaign, too.

He won the UEFA Player of the Match award in five of his team’s 10 games. He scored six times, with Álex Grimaldo (2) the only other Leverkusen player to score more than once. Wirtz also created at least eight more chances than any of his teammates (25) and made more progressive carries than anyone else (80) – carries that move the ball more than five metres upfield.

Wirtz also does his fair share of work when his team don’t have the ball. He averaged 1.25 high turnovers per 90 minutes in all competitions in 2024-25, the most among all Bundesliga players (min. 1,500 mins played), while over the last two Bundesliga seasons, Wirtz has won possession in the opposition’s final third at least 15 times more than any other player (71).

In the Champions League, Wirtz made by far the most pressures of Leverkusen players (679), at least 246 more than the next most (Frimpong – 423). Dominik Szoboszlai (456) made the most pressures in the competition for Liverpool, who went out in the same round.

His work rate off the ball should suit Liverpool down to the ground. The Reds scored the joint-most goals from high turnovers in the Premier League in 2024-25.

1.25 – Florian Wirtz averaged 1.25 high turnovers per 90 minutes in all competitions in 2024-25, the most among all Bundesliga players last season (min. 1,500 mins played). Pressing. pic.twitter.com/RyD8oKquXy

Looking at our player comparison radars, we matched Wirtz up with the man Manchester City supposedly wanted him to replace this summer, Kevin De Bruyne. As you can see, their output was quite similar in most areas this season. Granted, this is a comparison from the campaign just gone, so not the Belgian at his peak, but Wirtz on the way up, matching well with De Bruyne on the way down, is still impressive.

But where would he play for Liverpool?

Wirtz has primarily taken up a role as an inside 10 to the left of Alonso’s attack, allowed to drift across the pitch but taking most of his touches on the left side. While he isn’t exactly a similar player to current options on Liverpool’s left in Cody Gakpo and Luis Díaz, Wirtz could still work there given his close control, dribbling ability and propensity for inswinging crosses from the left to the far post, where an eager Salah would likely be waiting. The potential signing of Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez suggests the width on that side would primarily be provided by the left-back, which would allow Wirtz to drift centrally.

He could, in theory, also play as the central attacker. Wirtz is not an orthodox number nine but given how often Slot utilised Díaz there this season, it’s feasible that the young German could do a similar job. The thought of him dropping deep, linking with the midfield and opening things up for the two wide forwards could rekindle memories of Roberto Firmino, a player who flourished as a 10 in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim before moving to Liverpool in 2015.

Despite that, given the money reportedly being paid for him, you would think his likeliest role would be as a 10, even though Szoboszlai performed admirably this season for Liverpool, providing energy high up the pitch and improving his goal output. After just five goal involvements (3G 2A) in 33 Premier League games in his first season after moving from RB Leipzig, Szoboszlai managed 12 this season (6G 6A) in 36 league games, though he did play higher up the pitch than in his debut campaign in England.

Slot said in September that he wanted more goals from Szoboszlai due to his advanced role: “‘I think something that we have to work on with him is that he’s also even more involved in scoring goals and creating chances for us,” the Dutch coach said.

“Last season he scored three [in the league] if I remember correctly and for an attacking midfielder at Liverpool, his numbers need to go up.”

Wirtz would likely be a greater goal threat, registering 44 goal involvements (21G 23A) in 63 Bundesliga games across the last two seasons, but that’s not to say Szoboszlai would be shunted out of the team. Slot played him in a deeper midfield role in the recent loss at Brighton, a game in which the Hungarian scored (albeit accidentally) and the Liverpool boss actually mentioned that Szoboszlai himself prefers that role, so it could be something we see more of next season.

Wirtz was also more involved in his role at Leverkusen than Szoboszlai was at Liverpool, with 86.9 touches per 90 compared to Szoboszlai’s 59.9, though the German prefers to drift out to the left to find space, while the Hungarian prefers areas on the right, so in certain games Slot could conceivably have them dovetail and play a single pivot in behind them.

You could almost call him ‘Wirtz-atile’… we never would, though, because that’s stupid. Ahem.

Wirtz took to Instagram on Tuesday to refute claims that he would demand Alexis Mac Allister’s number 10 shirt should a move to Liverpool materialise. Whatever digits are on his back, Reds fans will be hoping Wirtz can be a 10 who turns the English champions up to 11.

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