Florian Wirtz will join Liverpool for around £116 million (including add-ons), making him the most valuable player in Premier League history. The achievements at Leverkusen in the past 2 years, along with compliments in the media, are enough to turn Wirtz into Liverpool's hope in attack in the coming time.
In the last two seasons, Florian Wirtz has dribbled 313 times in the Bundesliga. This number is higher than other young talents in Europe's top leagues such as Lamine Yamal (231), Mohamed Kudus (216) or Jeremy Doku (203). From those dribbles, Wirtz has created 214 chances in open play, behind only Mohamed Salah (150), Martin Odegaard (139), Bruno Fernandes (137) and Cole Palmer (134).
These indicators include the ability to read situations well, move intelligently and know how to stir up the opponent's defense. Not only is he a good attacker, he is also very good at getting the ball back when defending. Wirtz has won possession of the ball 71 times in the past 2 seasons, an impressive number.
One of the decisions that made Arne Slot bring Florian Wirtz to Anfield was the possibility that the midfielder could become the team's most complete "number 10". This is a position Liverpool did not have, or was very vague in the last season. In the Bundesliga 2024-2025, the 22-year-old star had 1,790 passes in the opponent's third, proving his ability to coordinate the ball and open up continuous opportunities.
Having Florian Wirtz as a "number 10" will help Mo Salah reduce the intensity of his attacks next season as he prepares to turn 33. With Wirtz in charge of the passing role, Salah only needs to appear regularly in the opponent's penalty area and score, not having to try to run much from outside the penalty area anymore. Dominik Szoboszlai could then drop deeper, taking advantage of his endless physical strength to form a "number 6" pair with Ryan Gravenberch.
In some situations, Florian Wirtz could also be considered a "false 9". This is an unusual position but he also experienced it under Xabi Alonso in the past 2 years at Leverkusen. Liverpool currently have 2 strikers, Diogo Jota or injury while Darwin Nunez cannot break away, Arne Slot had to reluctantly use Luis Diaz. Although the Colombian striker has met some of the requirements, this is still just a temporary solution.
Not only playing as a "number 10" or a "false 9", Florian Wirtz can completely take on the role of left winger, where he played in the German national team in the recent UEFA Nations League. This is the position that Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz are holding, but both are caught up in rumors that he could leave this summer, especially Luis Diaz.
With the preparation to have more Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth, Liverpool will have a very strong left wing, recreating the Sadio Mane - Andy Robertson pair under Jurgen Klopp. If Kerkez and Wirtz can pair each other, the left wing of The Kop will be their most fearsome weapon.
