“Termed To Me As…” – Paul Gorst On Agreement To Bring ‘Superstar’ To Liverpool | OneFootball

By James Cranford

After weeks of anticipation, Florian Wirtz was finally announced as a Liverpool player on Friday.

The German star gave his first interview in a red shirt on the club’s social media on what was deemed ‘Florian Friday’, seven days on from the confirmation of his nine-figure transfer from Bayer Leverkusen.

Wirtz thanked the fans for their support and patience through the negotiations before going on to describe his new home as ‘a club from the top three in the world’.

All that remains is for the 22-year-old to show fans and pundits alike what he can do on the pitch. His first opportunity to do so will come in a friendly away to Preston North End on July 13th, before he and his teammates jet off on a Far East tour of Hong Kong and Japan.

On the latest episode of our Journo Insight show, we asked the Liverpool Echo’s LFC correspondent, Paul Gorst, for his thoughts on Florian Wirtz.

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Paul said:

“I think it’ll be seen as a massive feather in the cap for Richard Hughes behind the scenes, whether he will look to take the lion’s share of the credit, I’m not sure, given the little we know about his personality.

“He seems very much a person who shuns the limelight, shall we say, in a bit of the Michael Edwards mould.

“We know that the agreement was reached last week, wasn’t it? At £116m. So, yeah, £100m initial, with a further £16m in add-ons that have been termed to me as ‘aspirational bonuses.’

“I think that basically means that he’ll have to be a considerable success for him to become the British record transfer, but I think that’s exactly what Liverpool want to do.

“I think they’re happy to pay the money if it means that Liverpool have won the Premier League and/or Champions League, and he’s been a starring player in that success.

“I think Liverpool are getting a superstar, really, right on the cusp of taking off into the next level.

“He’s got a huge upside, his best years are ahead of him, and they are going to be at Liverpool now, which is just such an exciting prospect.”

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REDMEN REACTS

With the Premier League title safely wrapped up in April, Arne Slot and the LFC hierarchy have been able to plot out how they will attack the 25/26 season with a rare degree of certainty. With deals for Frimpong and Wirtz landed early and a fee agreed for Milos Kerkez, the Reds look to be in very strong position to attack all four major trophies next campaign. Without wishing to heap any more pressure on the young man’s shoulders, Florian Wirtz could become the main man in a post-Salah and Van Dijk Liverpool side. Comparisons can be made to another midfielder who proved himself in Germany before becoming a global star of the game in England – Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian arrived at Manchester City for a big fee and hit the ground running, quickly becoming the key player in a dominant side. If Florian Wirtz’s career can mirror that of De Bruyne’s, even a British record transfer fee will be considered money very well spent.