Wirtz Signing Set to Redefine Liverpool’s Midfield and Attack | OneFootball

Liverpool and Wirtz: A New Era Begins Under Arne Slot

When a club with Liverpool’s heritage breaks the British transfer record, expectations are not merely high, they are stratospheric. Florian Wirtz, the German prodigy who dazzled under Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen, is about to become the heartbeat of Arne Slot’s Anfield project.

Wirtz, who is expected to have his Liverpool medical on Friday, will arrive not just with a hefty price tag but also with the pressure of reinvention. He represents more than a marquee signing — he is Slot’s vision incarnate, the creative axis around which this next evolution of Liverpool will revolve.

Photo: IMAGO

Slot has no interest in replicating the past. With Jürgen Klopp’s era consigned to the history books, Slot is building something that feels tactically fluid, physically demanding and strategically modern. In Wirtz, he has the ideal cornerstone.

Positional Fluidity and Tactical Balance

Wirtz is a versatile attacking midfielder who primarily played as a left-sided No 10 under Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen. But he can also operate as a false nine or wide left. This blend of roles gives Slot myriad options, and that is crucial at a time when Liverpool are recalibrating their shape and balance.

In short, he provides Slot with plenty of options.

But his versatility also raises immediate questions. Where will he fit in? What does his arrival mean for the rest of Liverpool’s attacking and midfield structure?

Photo: IMAGO

Wirtz is a No 10. So, logically, that’s where he will play… right?

Most likely, but it is not as simple as upgrading on a like-for-like player who operates in that position. The man who fulfilled that role for Liverpool last season, Dominik Szoboszlai, is a different stylistic profile to Wirtz and that is likely to have tactical implications.

Szoboszlai functioned as a high-octane presser, combining tireless off-ball work with surging runs beyond the back line and some creative output. His numbers — eight goals and nine assists in 49 appearances — were respectable but left room for more.

Wirtz would be expected to improve on that.

And this is where the nuance lies. While Szoboszlai thrived on vertical energy and pressure, Wirtz is Liverpool’s creative fulcrum following Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure. That necessitates freedom, not just effort. He needs to operate in pockets, to conduct the tempo, to find space between lines and hurt teams with vision, not just running.

Among last season’s Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A players, only Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku attempted more passes within the attacking third than Wirtz’s 32.4 per 90 minutes.

Implications for Szoboszlai, Jones and Elliott

If Slot makes Wirtz the main man at No 10, then Szoboszlai could drop deeper, perhaps rotating with Alexis Mac Allister in the No 8 role. It is a tactical shift that could work, particularly given Szoboszlai’s encouraging performance in that role against Brighton near the season’s end.

Curtis Jones, however, might be the player who suffers most. Once Slot’s fourth-choice midfielder, his ability to cover multiple roles has worked against him, and if Szoboszlai slots into a deeper berth, Jones may find minutes hard to come by.

Photo IMAGO

Harvey Elliott’s tone when speaking about his future has changed in the final months of the season, and the move for Wirtz just underlined that he seemingly has no future at the club. Having been restricted to cup starts and cameos, the attacker’s arrival would limit his opportunities further.

There’s a physical edge that Slot clearly values, and Wirtz represents a middle ground. More technical than Szoboszlai, more physically complete than Elliott. A hybrid playmaker, combining vision, work rate and resilience.

False Nine Role Could Define Liverpool’s Shape

Referring back to the jigsaw puzzle, a Darwin Nunez exit and no striker incoming makes Wirtz playing as a false nine more probable.

Slot largely played with a central striker last season but occasionally adopted a 4-2-4 system involving two attacking midfielders through the middle, as Jones partnered Szoboszlai at the top end of the pitch — most notably in December’s 2-0 victory against Manchester City.

Slot lavished praise on Paris Saint-Germain — who also opted not to start with a recognised No 9 — following their Champions League meeting with Liverpool, and the French club ultimately won that competition.

When Luis Diaz led the line for Liverpool, the setup was similar, with the 28-year-old dropping deeper into pockets of space alongside Szoboszlai. December’s 6-3 victory over Tottenham was the system at its most effective, and the Colombian became the preferred option when everyone was fit, hinting at a change in Slot’s thoughts on that role.

Wirtz would have to adjust to not having a central No 9 ahead of him, but his football intelligence, decision-making and speed of thought shouldn’t make trying to find his wide attackers making out-to-in runs with precise passes a problem.

Diogo Jota’s minutes would take a hit should Wirtz cement his place there, while Diaz would return to primarily competing for the starting left wing role with Cody Gakpo.

If Slot wants to retain Szoboszlai’s strongest traits and not be forced into a more significant tactical shift, then the 4-2-4 should appeal. It will also provide a strong midfield square of technical quality in the centre of the pitch.

The aim should be to provide Wirtz with as much freedom as possible to roam and impact the game. Playing as a false nine or as a second No 10, alongside Szoboszlai, may offer exactly that.

Creative Width and Left-Flank Questions

Diaz and Gakpo were Slot’s senior options on the left flank last season.

Both have been linked with moves away from Anfield already this summer, with the former once again subject to interest from Barcelona and teams in Saudi Arabia, while the latter has been tentatively linked to Bayern Munich.

Slot rotated the pair at the beginning of last season, before he moved Diaz centrally following an injury to Jota. It allowed Gakpo to excel in the left-wing role, finishing the season as Liverpool’s second-highest scorer with 18, while Diaz became Slot’s preferred No 9 option for a large portion of the campaign.

If both stay, the expectation would be that Slot continues to primarily use them in rotation on the left.

That would be even more likely should a new No 9 also arrive, although it opens up the possibility of Wirtz playing off the left and drifting inside with a left-back — probably Kerkez — providing the width.

Liverpool’s business will not end following Wirtz’s signature, take the expected arrival of Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez.

This means that we may not know exactly how many missing pieces are in the jigsaw until later in the window.

But while Wirtz’s potential role on the left is intriguing, it also runs the risk of neutralising his best qualities. With Wirtz becoming the creative mainstay, it makes less sense for him to take up one of those wide roles — although Salah proved it was possible to provide a huge danger to the opposition playing out wide during his record-equalling campaign.

Instead, pulling the strings centrally while also carrying a goal threat seems the clear solution, whether that’s as the No 9 or No 10.

Vision of a Fluid and Ruthless Liverpool

Wirtz is going to be Liverpool’s creative fulcrum following Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure, and that means enabling him to find space and dictate tempo without too many defensive responsibilities dragging him away from the areas where he flourishes.

Should Jeremie Frimpong win the battle with Conor Bradley to be Liverpool’s starting right-back, that would mean three players on that right side who all do their best work in the final third. Salah, Wirtz and Frimpong are a scary proposition for any opposition defence, but it might lead to an increased workload for Ryan Gravenberch and Ibrahima Konate in transition.

Wirtz notably played as a left-sided No 10 for Leverkusen, drifting inside to wreak havoc with his right foot. Slot could switch the positions of the No 9 and No 10, like he did in the 3-0 victory over Manchester United last September, but the void behind Salah would still need covering, potentially placing more responsibility on Gravenberch.

Liverpool’s attack is shifting towards movement, intelligence and unpredictability. With Wirtz, they have a player who can read the game three seconds ahead of everyone else. The jigsaw is not complete, but its centrepiece is now in place.