Florian Wirtz is undoubtedly a highly sought-after player. For many young footballers, a summer featuring a brief battle between three of Europe`s top clubs for their services might be overwhelming, but it`s hard to envision that scenario unfolding for Wirtz.
Born in Pulheim, Wirtz was raised in one of Europe`s most vibrant footballing regions. Nearby were giants like Borussia Dortmund, Schalke, Borussia Monchengladbach, Fortuna Dusseldorf, and to the east, Bayer Leverkusen. None of these clubs were unaware of the burgeoning talent residing in the Cologne suburbs; they simply had to wait their turn.
Wirtz grew up in a family dedicated to fostering 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 early years were centered around the local football team. He seemed to have a ball constantly at his feet.
It`s little surprise, then, that his coaches found him so easy to work with. Benedikt Hammans, Wirtz`s youth coach in Cologne for several years, commented, `Early on, Florian knew better than I did which decisions he should make in a game.` Breaking into the team at 15, Wirtz was a standout player in the Cologne Under-17 side that clinched the National Championships in 2019.
Across 14 games alongside older, bigger, and perhaps stronger players, Wirtz contributed four goals and eight assists. His remarkable form culminated in a dazzling performance against Bayern Munich in the semifinal second leg of the B-Junioren-Meisterschaft. Even at a tender age, you could spot the traits that would make Wirtz the kind of player Liverpool might need to break the British transfer record to acquire. Blocking a long pass, the Cologne No. 10 instantly found space to receive the ball back from a teammate. Two touches to control the ball, and he immediately launched a pinpoint 50-yard pass behind the Bayern defense, creating an easy opportunity for Jan Thielmann, who rounded the keeper and scored. Three minutes later, he was lurking on the edge of a counter-attack, ready to tap home his side`s fourth goal. This knack for significantly impacting the scoreline has remained a hallmark of Wirtz`s game.
His talents were already drawing the attention of European giants like Juventus and Arsenal, with Liverpool also closely monitoring his progress. Closer to home, Simon Rolfes was determined to get ahead of these major foreign clubs. Returning to Bayer Leverkusen, where he spent most of his playing career, in 2018, the now-sporting director began his tenure by asking the academy staff a simple question: given his technique and tenacity, possessing all the qualities Rolfes desired at the Bay Arena, why wasn`t Wirtz already a Leverkusen player?
There was a straightforward explanation. Cologne, Leverkusen, and Borussia Monchengladbach had a long-standing agreement not to poach academy talent from each other, believing it benefited both the region and the players by providing stability in their development. Leverkusen`s solution in early 2020 was clever but controversial. Just months after guiding Cologne to the youth title, Wirtz signed with Leverkusen as a first-team player.
The European giants interested in him didn`t stand much of a chance. It wasn`t solely about joining the same club as his sister. His parents reasoned that moving to Leverkusen would allow Wirtz to complete his school studies, although the player later insisted he had the final say. Five years later, Wirtz may have the casting vote, but his parents remain crucial voices in his decisions. When potential suitors approached this summer, they spoke directly with Hans, whose wife Karin was also involved in discussions, including those with Manchester City.
`The sporting perspective is much more important than money,` Wirtz told Sports Illustrated last month, reflecting on what his mother and father had taught him. `My parents would be upset if I ever prioritized money.`
In the early stages of his career, it`s possible that educational priorities even outweighed sporting ones. A few months after his transfer, Wirtz was left out of the squad for a Europa League match against Slavia Prague because he had an exam the following morning. Like any teenager, Wirtz was more passionate about football than academics, but he never left school prematurely, even bringing a teacher with him when he received his first call-up to the German national team in March 2021.
Wirtz`s Central Role at Leverkusen
The move 11 miles east offered a clear path to the first team, a welcome bonus that quickly materialized. In the summer of 2020, Chelsea agreed to a $96 million deal to sign Kai Havertz, creating a vacancy in the number 10 position. Leverkusen needed a successor for their superstar attacker and found him internally. `We could buy [a replacement], a waste of money, the kid is already better,` Rolfes commented later. `Ultimately, we had no alternative. It would have been illogical.`
With scarcely a dissenting opinion within the club, Leverkusen entrusted the key attacking role to a teenager. However, Wirtz didn`t view himself in those terms. `I try not to focus on the idea that I`m a special player who has to be the difference-maker,` Wirtz stated 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 us.`
Those chances materialized with remarkable consistency. Over the last four seasons in 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 nearly every creative metric, Wirtz ranked among the world`s elite before his 22nd birthday.
This period wasn`t one of uninterrupted development, as the young playmaker spent 10 months sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament injury that cost him a spot in the 2022 World Cup. Such a traumatic injury could slow any player`s progress, especially an 18-year-old still growing. Not only did he face the emotional blow of missing his potential first major tournament, but he also watched Leverkusen struggle in his absence, though the arrival of Xabi Alonso offered promising signs for the future.
Those close to Wirtz say he dislikes being injured more intensely than most. He used his recovery time productively, focusing on rounding out aspects of his game that hadn`t fully blossomed 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 for Bayer Leverkusen, his shot and goal output, in particular, saw a dramatic increase.
With Wirtz excelling, “Neverkusen” transformed into the most remarkable story in sports. A stunning unbeaten domestic season saw them wrestle the Bundesliga title away from a Bayern Munich side that seemed destined for eternal dominance, especially after signing Harry Kane that summer. With his propensity for scoring crucial goals and his captivating blend of elegance and tireless work rate, Wirtz was arguably the best player in Germany.
How He Fits into Liverpool
The same could have been true in 2024-25, although Leverkusen`s dramatic late winners became less frequent, and the injuries they had avoided the previous season began to bite. Wirtz himself suffered an ankle injury that ended his Bundesliga and Champions League campaigns, which already appeared challenging. Even as the demands on him grew, with Alonso`s system notably more cautious than in the title-winning season, Wirtz still delivered 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 race. Joachim Low echoed many sentiments when he told Bild recently that he expected Wirtz to follow Alonso to Real Madrid, but it seems the English champions are now in a solitary pursuit. This might give them leverage to negotiate down the $170 million valuation CBS Sports reported Leverkusen were holding firm on earlier this week. Whatever the final fee, it`s likely to surpass the British transfer record of $144.6 million, set when Chelsea signed Enzo Fernandez in January 2023.
For that price, Liverpool appears to be acquiring arguably the most talented player on the market, one whose arrival opens up vast tactical possibilities for Arne Slot. The most obvious approach would simply be to deploy Wirtz in the number 10 role occupied by Dominik Szoboszlai last season. The potential new signing certainly offers greater goal threat; Liverpool would effectively be trading an attacker with six league goals and assists for one capable of realistically reaching double figures in both categories. Wirtz might be lighter and shorter, but he is a dynamic force in the press. In their title-winning season, no player across the entire Bundesliga recovered possession in the attacking third more often than Leverkusen`s No. 10.
While that approach would likely be effective, Michael Edwards` recent transfer activity suggests broader options. The acquisition of Jeremie Frimpong (Wirtz`s former and likely future teammate) and the potential arrival of Milos Kerkez provide Slot with new wing-backs on both flanks. Last season, Liverpool`s fullbacks played in more conservative positions than under Jurgen Klopp, a tactic that surely must change with players 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 pushing forward.
Does this necessitate a more defensive midfield behind Wirtz, perhaps involving an anchoring presence and a shift to a 4-3-3 shape? There`s no reason why that wouldn`t suit him either, given his tendency to drift into wider areas in recent seasons. One of the delights of Leverkusen`s play has been the synergy between Alejandro Grimaldo and Wirtz, allowing the left wing-back the freedom to move infield, attack the box, or drop short for quick one-twos. Could a similar dynamic develop with Kerkez? Bournemouth generally leveraged their Hungarian international`s running power over his technical skill; he profiles more like a younger Andrew Robertson, a tireless left-sided presence whose main strength is reaching the byline.
If Liverpool chooses to deploy their left-back in that manner, it should pose no problem for Wirtz. In fact, it`s easy to see how their recruitment strategy aligns with getting their wide attackers into more central zones. Having shifted wider right in recent years to accommodate Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah could move infield with Frimpong operating outside him. Slot could potentially employ a similar tactic with Wirtz.
For a nine-figure sum, Liverpool is securing tactical flexibility, but more importantly, they are acquiring a foundational piece for their future attack. Since that summer day in 2022 when Salah signed his current contract, one of the key questions at Anfield has been what happens when the Egyptian King`s peak era concludes. That question now seems answered. The torch passes to Wirtz, who, in his early twenties, appears perfectly ready to bear the crown.
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.
Dominic Ashworth