Florian Wirtz is quite accustomed to being highly sought after. While many young footballers might feel overwhelmed by a summer where three of Europe`s top clubs briefly vied for their services, it`s difficult to imagine Wirtz reacting the same way.
Born in Pulheim, Wirtz was raised in a region rich in footballing talent. To the north lie the major clubs of Borussia Dortmund, Schalke, Borussia Monchengladbach, and Fortuna Dusseldorf. To the east is Bayer Leverkusen. None of these clubs were unaware of the growing talent in the Cologne suburbs. They would simply have to wait their turn.
Wirtz grew up in a family dedicated to supporting his development, as well as that of his sister Juliane, who plays for Werder Bremen. His father, Hans, remains the chairman of Grun-Weiss Brauweiler, and Florian`s childhood was centered around the local football team. He essentially grew up with a ball constantly at his feet.
It`s hardly surprising, then, that his coaches found working with him so easy. Benedikt Hammans, Wirtz`s youth coach in Cologne for several years, remarked about his young player: `Early on, Florian knew better than me what decisions he should make during a game.` Joining the side at 15, Wirtz was a standout player in the Cologne Under-17 team that clinched the National Championships in 2019.
Across 14 matches playing alongside older, larger, and perhaps stronger opponents, Wirtz contributed four goals and eight assists. His exceptional form culminated in a stunning performance against Bayern Munich in the semifinal second leg of the B-Junioren-Meisterschaft. Even at a young age, you could see the qualities that would make Wirtz the player Liverpool might need to break the British transfer record to acquire. Blocking a long pass, the Cologne No.10 immediately found space to receive the ball from a teammate. With two touches to control the ball, he instantly launched a 50-yard pass behind the Bayern defense, a delivery that made it easy for Jan Thielmann, who rounded the keeper and scored. Three minutes later, he was hovering near a counter-attack, ready to tap in his team`s fourth goal. This knack for making a significant impact on the score sheet would remain a hallmark of Wirtz`s game.
Already, his talents were drawing attention from major European clubs like Juventus and Arsenal. Liverpool was also closely monitoring his progress. Closer to home, Simon Rolfes was determined to get ahead of these big international names. Returning to Bayer Leverkusen, where he spent most of his playing career, in 2018, the current sporting director began his tenure by simply asking the academy staff he now oversaw: Given his technique and tenacity, Wirtz possessed all the qualities Rolfes desired at the Bay Arena. So, he inquired, why wasn`t Wirtz already a Leverkusen player?
There was a straightforward reason for this. Cologne, Leverkusen, and Borussia Monchengladbach had a long-standing agreement not to poach academy prospects from each other, believing it beneficial for both the region and the players to ensure stability in their development. Leverkusen`s approach in early 2020 was clever yet controversial. A few months after leading Cologne to the youth title, Wirtz was signed by Leverkusen as a first-team player.
The European powerhouses who wanted him didn`t stand much of a chance. It wasn`t just the appeal of playing for the same club as his sister. Joining Leverkusen meant Wirtz could finish his school studies, his parents reasoned, although the youngster later insisted he had the final say. Five years on, Wirtz does have the final say, but his parents remain highly influential voices. When potential suitors came to make their case this summer, they would have likely spoken directly to Hans, whose wife Karin was also involved in discussions with Manchester City.
`The sporting perspective is far more important than money,` Wirtz told Sports Illustrated last month, reflecting on his parents` lessons. `My parents would be upset if I ever put money first.`
In the early stages of his career, the sporting perspective might have even been secondary to his education. A few months after his move, Wirtz was left out of the squad to face Slavia Prague in the Europa League. Understandably so, as he had an exam the following morning. Like any teenager, Wirtz was more passionate about football than academics, but he never neglected his studies. He even brought a teacher with him when he received his first call-up to the German national team in March 2021.
Wirtz`s Prominent Role at Leverkusen
The 11-mile move east offered a clear path to the first team, which was another welcome benefit. This opportunity quickly materialized. In the summer of 2020, Chelsea agreed to a $96 million deal to sign Kai Havertz, creating an opening in the number 10 position. Leverkusen needed a successor for their star attacker but had no intention of spending money on one. `We could buy [a replacement], a waste of money, the kid is already better,` Rolfes commented the following year. `In the end, we had no alternative. It would have been illogical.`
With virtually unanimous agreement across the club, Leverkusen entrusted the key attacking role to a teenager. Wirtz himself didn`t see it in those terms. `I try not to focus on the idea that I`m some kind of special player who single-handedly makes the difference,` Wirtz told CBS Sports in 2023. `I just want to create scoring opportunities, to make goals happen. I don`t really care who scores; it`s about winning games, and I just want to create dangerous chances for our team.`
Those chances materialized with remarkable consistency. Over the last four seasons across Europe`s top five leagues, Wirtz averaged 0.46 assists per 90 minutes, a rate surpassed only by Kevin De Bruyne, Thomas Muller, Ousmane Dembele, and Lionel Messi. By almost any creative metric, Wirtz was among the world`s elite players before his 22nd birthday.
However, this period wasn`t one of continuous progression. For 10 months, the young playmaker was sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, which cost him a place in the 2022 World Cup squad. This setback could have slowed any player`s development, especially an 18-year-old whose body is still growing, forced to recover from one of football`s most severe injuries. Not only did he have to cope with the emotional blow of missing what would have been his first major tournament, but he also had to watch as Leverkusen struggled without him, although the replacement of Gerardo Seaone with Xabi Alonso offered an intriguing glimpse of the future.
Those close to Wirtz say he detests being injured even more than most. He used his recovery time productively, determined to improve aspects of his game that hadn`t fully shone in his first Bundesliga season. Just four months after his return, he declared himself a better player than before the injury. By his first full season back, the 2023-24 campaign which exceeded all expectations at Bayer Leverkusen, his goal and shot output, in particular, saw a dramatic increase.
With Wirtz starring, Neverkusen became the most compelling story in sports. A stunning unbeaten domestic season saw them wrest the Bundesliga title from a Bayern Munich side that had seemed destined to dominate German football forever, especially after adding Harry Kane that summer. With his flair for important goals and a dizzying blend of elegance and relentless work rate, Wirtz was undoubtedly the best player in Germany.
How Does He Fit into Liverpool?
The same could well have been true in the 2024-25 season, though the dramatic late winners for Leverkusen became less frequent, and injuries that they had avoided the previous season took their toll. Wirtz himself suffered an ankle injury that ended his Bundesliga and Champions League campaigns, which already looked to be winding down. Even as the demands on him increased, with Alonso`s system noticeably more cautious than in the title-winning season, Wirtz still delivered the same 20 goal contributions in the league, taking more shots and providing more assists.
It`s no wonder the top clubs wanted him. If there was any surprise, it was that only Bayern Munich and Manchester City joined Liverpool in the pursuit. Joachim Low spoke for many when he told Bild this week that he had expected Wirtz to follow Alonso to Real Madrid, but it appears the English club is now in a favorable position. This might allow them to negotiate down the $170 million price tag that was reported earlier this week by CBS Sports as Leverkusen`s valuation. Whatever the final terms, it is likely to surpass the British transfer record of $144.6 million, set when Chelsea signed Enzo Fernandez in January 2023.
For that price, they appear to be acquiring potentially the most talented player available on the market, whose signing opens up vast possibilities for Arne Slot. The most straightforward option would be to simply deploy Wirtz in the number 10 role occupied by Dominik Szoboszlai last season. The potential new signing certainly offers greater goal involvement; Liverpool would effectively be replacing an attacker who contributed six goals and assists in league play with one who can realistically achieve double figures in both categories. Wirtz may be lighter and shorter, but he is a dynamo in the press. In the title-winning season, no player across the entire Bundesliga recovered possession in the attacking third more often than Leverkusen`s No.10.
That approach would surely work, but there are other options informed by Michael Edwards` recent transfer business. The acquisitions of Jeremie Frimpong (Wirtz`s former and likely future teammate) and Milos Kerkez could give Slot new wing-backs on each flank. Last season, Liverpool`s fullbacks played in notably more conservative positions than under Jurgen Klopp. This would surely change if they sign a player like Frimpong, who spent almost as much time operating as a center forward under Alonso as he did in a back four. Kerkez is also well-suited to attacking down the flank.
Does this necessitate a more defensive midfield behind Wirtz, perhaps even a dedicated anchor and a shift in formation to a 4-3-3? There`s no reason why this wouldn`t suit him either, given he has drifted into wider areas in recent seasons. One of the great pleasures of Leverkusen`s play in recent years has been the link-up between Alejandro Grimaldo and Wirtz, with the left wing-back given freedom to move inside and out, attacking the box or dropping short for one-twos. Could the same happen with Kerkez? Bournemouth generally looked to utilize the running power of their Hungarian international rather than his technical skills, and he profiles more like a younger Andrew Robertson – a tireless presence on the left flank whose main strengths lie in reaching the byline.
If Liverpool chooses to use their left-back in this manner, it should still pose no problem for Wirtz. Indeed, it`s easy to see how their recruitment could align to push their wide attackers into more central positions. Having previously moved wider to the right in recent years to accommodate Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah could shift infield with Frimpong on his outside. Slot could ask the same of Wirtz.
For a nine-figure sum, Liverpool is acquiring tactical flexibility, but more importantly, they are securing a focal point for their future attack. Since that summer day in 2022 when Salah signed his previous contract, one of the most significant questions hanging over Anfield has been what happens when the Egyptian King`s dominant era concludes. That question appears to have been answered. The crown passes to Wirtz, who, in his early twenties, has shown that the regal attire fits him perfectly.
If the trajectory of his career thus far is any indication, a high-profile move and the challenge of succeeding a club legend should only bring out the very best in Wirtz.
