‘Right now…’ – ESPN pundit drops early Premier League title verdict if Liverpool sign Wirtz | OneFootball

Liverpool’s big-money pursuit of Florian Wirtz has sent out one emphatic message to the rest of the Premier League – we have absolutely no intention of giving up our title easily next season!

The Reds appear to be closing in on a record-breaking €150m (£127m) swoop for the Bayer Leverkusen star after Fabrizio Romano reported over the past 48 hours that a ‘deal in principle’ has been ‘verbally agreed’ between the two clubs.

In addition, Richard Hughes has already completed the signing of Jeremie Frimpong and also appears to be on course to snap up Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth.

Liverpool backed to retain Premier League title if they add Wirtz

The impending transer of Wirtz to Liverpool was discussed on ESPN FC, and journalist Mark Ogden was asked if Arne Slot’s side could be considered ‘clear favourites’ to retain the Premier League title if they clinch a deal for the Germany playmaker.

He replied: “I think you probably can, because I think their biggest rivals are Man City. They’re gonna be tied up in the Club World Cup and that’ll take a lot out of City next year.

“They’ve also got a situation where they’re not bringing in the Grade A players they used to bring in. They’re bringing in good players but not the very best players, so I think City aren’t the challengers that we thought they might be.

“I think with Arsenal, it depends on what they do. If they sign a world-class striker, they’ll be in the mix.”

(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images/Getty Images For The Premier League)

Ogden added: “You have to say that Wirtz is such a good player, and with Frimpong as well and Kerkez when that gets done, that is a very strong addition for the summer. They will miss Trent Alexander-Arnold, certainly his distribution. Who knows, but right now, they’re the favourites.”

Signing Wirtz would send out a proper statement of intent from Liverpool

When Liverpool last went into a season as defending champions (2020/21), their only three summer signings were Diogo Jota, Kostas Tsimikas and Thiago Alcantara – all very good players, but none of them a genuine statement acquisition in the same way that Wirtz would be.

Admittedly the uniquely short gap between one campaign and the next (due to delays caused by the global pandemic) made recruitment more difficult that year, and nobody could legislate for the horrendous misfortune that the Reds had with injuries over the subsequent months.

However, there does appear to be a more palpable sense now compared to five years ago that LFC must use their position of superiority to make themselves even harder for the chasing pack to catch in 2025/26, and the proactivity of Hughes so early in the summer is a positive indicator.

Man City have already been very active in the market in preparation for the Club World Cup, and while Ogden and Thomas Tuchel have both suggested that their participation in that tournament could adversely impact their Premier League title hopes, it’d be foolish to dismiss Pep Guardiola’s side as genuine contenders next term.

Liverpool can’t control what other clubs do in the market, but they can take ownership of their own marketplace activity. Should they get Wirtz and Kerkez (plus a couple more deals) over the line, in addition to what’s already at Anfield, they’ll rightly be considered many people’s favourites to retain the title over the coming 12 months.