German midfielder Florian Wirtz is set to join Liverpool this summer as the Premier League champions look to strengthen ahead of their 2025/26 title defence.
The 22-year-old will move to Anfield in a deal that could reach £116m, potentially making him the most expensive signing in Premier League history.
Plenty of expectation will come with that sort of fee, owing to the obvious talent that he has displayed since helping Bayer Leverkusen to their first ever Bundesliga title.
However, with Liverpool having been the strongest team in the league last season by a distance, and with a settled squad that has adapted well to the tactics of new manager Arne Slot, there are questions as to where exactly Wirtz will fit into the Dutchman’s side.
Joining a title-winning side can be less straightforward than it appears, but the German has played all across the front line for club and country in recent seasons. We’ve taken a look at he could fit into the Reds line up in 2025/26.
Option 1: Attacking midfield
The first place to start would be in a central attacking midfield role. While Wirtz has played more on the left in the majority of his games at club level, Liverpool’s setup is very different to that which Xabi Alonso used at Leverkusen, and the most obvious gap in Liverpool’s team is in attacking midfield.
Wirtz has become known for his combination of close control, excellent dribbling and an eye for a key pass, having registered 13 Bundesliga assists last season, but he has an eye for goal too, scoring 10 goals last term.
He’ll add a different dimension to the Liverpool attack wherever he plays, but that could be most effective from central areas, with the Reds likely to come up against an increasing number of low blocks and teams that come to Anfield to sit deep.
Dominik Szoboszlai was the man to fill that role last season, and Slot has previously spoken about the Hungarian’s pivotal role in the side and an “unbelievable” work-rate.
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However, Wirtz is no stranger to off-the-ball work either. In the 2023/24 title-winning season, he was in the top 10 for duels won and interceptions in the Bundesliga, while an average distance covered of 7.6 miles (12.3km) and 33 sprints per match put him in the top five for those metrics too.
Slot also commented on how Szoboszlai’s “numbers need to go up” in attack, so it could be that Wirtz offers the ideal blend of out-of-possession work and in-possession attacking ability.
Option 2: Left wing
A position that Liverpool could find themselves lacking in is left wing, with Luis Diaz reportedly on the way out of Anfield amid interest from Barcelona.
Though Cody Gakpo performed well at various points last season, it could be that Wirtz finds himself deployed further wide on the left at times next season, especially since Mohamed Salah has made the right-wing position his own since arriving at Anfield.
Wirtz’s tactical flexibility is one of his most coveted attributes, and while the majority of his appearances for Leverkusen have come from a left attacking midfield role, it is unlikely that Slot will stray far from the 4-3-2-1 that brought so much success last season.
And the Dutchman could deploy Wirtz on the left with instructions to pick up the spaces in that favoured position, with the German playing a hybrid left-wing role that sees him drift inside. This could work especially well if the club were to sign Milos Kerkez, with the marauding Hungarian full-back capable of providing the necessary width.
Option 3: False 9 or second striker
Wirtz is one of several players to benefit from the unique tactical insight of Xabi Alonso during his time in Leverkusen, and this included playing in positions as varied as second striker and false nine during his time at the BayArena.
And it is in the latter that Wirtz could see himself deployed at times for Liverpool, with Slot having used Luis Diaz in the role last season, including in the 4-0 win over Leverkusen at Anfield.
With Darwin Nunez reportedly set for a move away from Anfield, Liverpool are supposedly in the market for a striker signings, though Wirtz could be used as a false nine at times if that signing fails to materialise.
Many of the attributes that make Wirtz a danger will be evident in these central areas, from his close control and brilliant dribbling to an impressive eye for goal, though it is his ability to drag out defenders out of position that would be pivotal in these areas, potentially opening up plenty of space in behind defences for wide players to exploit.
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