Liverpool Fc @ Anfield - Reds Supporters Gatherings

[escobar43535]

Oh man, I cant remember the last time I was this excited over a Reds transfer!!!

https://www.thetimes.com/sport/footb...usen-6r0kq937n

Florian Wirtz: How Liverpool won the battle for German starlet


Bayern Munich and Manchester City looked to be leading race for 22-year-old but a key meeting with Arne Slot, and doubts over Pep Guardiola’s future, turned tide in Anfield club’s favour

Paul Joyce
, Northern Football Correspondent
Friday June 13 2025, 11.10am BST, The Times

Florian Wirtz sat and listened. To Pep Guardiola, to Vincent Kompany and to Arne Slot, three of Europe’s most high-profile coaches who had each turned salesman in the hope of enticing a precocious talent to their club.

For some, those pitches would prove easier than for others. The respective title successes of Bayern Munich and Liverpool offered Kompany and Slot an easy introduction to Bayer Leverkusen’s starlet, though Guardiola, for once, did not have that luxury.

He could sell a vision to Wirtz of stepping into the void created by the departure of Kevin De Bruyne and of becoming the hub around whom City would seek to get back on their perch after a rare trophyless campaign.

Yet City’s biggest attraction is arguably Guardiola himself and the chance to work under one of the greatest coaches of the modern era. With that in mind, what happened next depends on who you believe. City, the club that pays Erling Haaland a large fortune and lavished £100million on Jack Grealish before casting him into the shadows, claimed they were pulling out of the race for Wirtz’s signature because of the cost involved, which they estimated to be £250million split between a £126million fee and a five-year contract.

Alternatively, several sources, including those in Germany, have indicated that Wirtz enquired about how long Guardiola would remain in charge given his contract is due to expire in 2027. According to the German publication Bild, the Catalan was not emphatic and so it was Wirtz who turned down City, not the other way round.

That left two suitors — Bayern and Liverpool. Real Madrid have been credited with a long-standing interest in the player but, ultimately, look to have had priorities elsewhere. It should be noted that heading into the final week of the Premier League season, Liverpool considered the Bundesliga champions to be favourites.

The biggest club in Germany had just recaptured their crown from Wirtz’s Leverkusen and the expectation was that they would consolidate such status by now taking the best player from the team who ended their 11-year title-winning streak in 2023-24.

There have been suggestions that Bayern were overconfident about signing Wirtz, whose father and agent, Hans-Joachim Wirtz, was well known to the club’s honorary president Uli Hoeness, and that, as a result, they did not speak to him properly until May 18.

How Wirtz, 22, would fit into the line-up alongside Jamal Musiala had been mooted as a potential headache for Kompany during talks, although it is difficult to believe — given the size of the potential transfer fee — that such a consideration had not been properly thought through.

Slot’s sales pitch was arguably more straightforward. At Anfield, Wirtz could be the No10, or indeed play elsewhere given his versatility. There was the added lure of working under a coach who had eked improvement from the elite stars Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, as well as those such as Ryan Gravenberch who had a little more to prove.

England represented a new challenge, a step outside Wirtz’s comfort zone and, arguably, the best sporting project, something which has always taken precedence in his career above financial rewards. There is the story that when he joined Leverkusen at the age of 16, his parents gave him a monthly allowance of €150 (about £125).

Winning a first title in Leverkusen’s history had been an outstanding achievement, whereas winning with Bayern would have carried an air of normality.

Wirtz is close friends with another player who has arrived at Liverpool from Leverkusen, Jeremie Frimpong, who used to drive his team-mate to training and sit next to him in the dressing room, which should help him assimilate. However, it was the possibility of testing himself in what he considers to be the best league in the world that truly appealed.

Wirtz is also said to have been impressed by Anfield and the training ground facilities which Leverkusen used the day after their 4-0 Champions League defeat by Liverpool last November. The manner in which Xabi Alonso’s side had collapsed in the second half served as a shock to a team that had become accustomed to winning, but also signposted Liverpool’s emergence.

Slot also had another ace up his sleeve. The celebrations after the win over Tottenham Hotspur, which had sealed Liverpool’s 20th title success, showed the power of the club. “Winning the league, having these fans, this is a big attraction to every player we want to bring in, and that is definitely helpful,” the Liverpool head coach said.

Even allowing for all that, alternatives were being actively considered. Rayan Cherki, who has since joined Manchester City from Lyon, was on a list of targets should Wirtz remain in his homeland either with Bayern or at Leverkusen for another season. Leverkusen had wanted him to sign a new deal with a release clause that would be lower than the €150million that had initially been sought this summer.

The key date was May 23. That was when the momentum swung in Slot’s favour. Bayern were informed that Wirtz saw his future elsewhere and bad news in Bavaria led to elation on Merseyside.

Liverpool, like all of Europe’s elite clubs, had long been aware of Wirtz’s capabilities and had fostered relationships. Being the last team standing owed much to their persistence and ambition, and was another reward for the hierarchy’s intuition that Slot would be the perfect appointment as Klopp’s successor.

The deal is not only a club record, but could become a British record, and for Liverpool to commit this amount of money on one player is significant.

Whether it is a departure from what they have done previously is an interesting point. Paying £75million for Van Dijk in 2018 would be the equivalent of a £99million fee today. The sporting director at the time Michael Edwards — now the chief executive of football for Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group — would have been prepared to pay even more for the centre back eight years ago because he believed Van Dijk would be transformational.

Liverpool can now shop in markets that they simply could not when Sadio Mané and Salah were recruited in 2016 and 2017 for a combined initial outlay in the region of £65million.

Wirtz has been deemed one of the best attacking midfielders in the world and, together with his young age, that profile costs money. Liverpool will benefit from the best years of his career and, in return, they are gaining not only an attacker but also a first defender. In the Bundesliga last season, only Bayern’s Michael Olise (37 times) won possession more than Wirtz’s 35 in the final third, which demonstrates his willingness to press.

And he can handle being pressed, too. Among wingers and attacking midfielders with 200 or more passes attempted under high-intensity pressure in the Champions League in 2024-25, only City’s Phil Foden (89.4 per cent, with 194 successful passes from 217 attempted) ranked ahead of Wirtz (88.8 per cent, with 302 from 340) for completion rate.

The complete package? Well, Philipp Lahm, the former Germany defender, wrote in The Athletic that Wirtz, who sustained an ACL injury against his former club Cologne in March 2022, needed to be more “physically durable” and that he did not like being man-marked. Yet Lahm added he would be “ideal” for Slot’s system which embodies “pace, vertical direction and a clear allocation of roles”.

Moves from the Bundesliga to the Premier League have not always worked out. For every Haaland there has been a Naby Keïta or Timo Werner, but the view at Liverpool is that Wirtz is someone who will make the difference — and a player for whom it was worth breaking the bank.

[Xgenre]

In Wirtz and Frimpong, we didn't just buy 2 young outstanding players. These 2 guys love playing with one another and they have telepathy between them. They know how to find each other in unmarked spaces. We basically bought Leverkusen's right sided attacking system.

Any young fans reading this thread? Feel free to join in the chat. Liverpool has been doing well and should be able to attract the next generation of fans right?

[escobar43535]

Still buzzing after the Florian Wirtz confirmation transfer to Liverpool yesterday!

Big statement signing which hopefully enables the start of a Liverpool dominance period with the retention of the EPL. A CL thrown in as well would be fabulous but i aint greedy. Let's start with #21 first, which to me is of utmost importance as we have not won back to back league titles since our last dominant period over 35 years ago.

Have to say, Wirtz appears to be up there as one of the three best and most exciting young players in the world currently! The other two being Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, great company no doubt!

Sorry but have to say a few words with regards that stinking rat Trent Alexander-Arnold now known as Trent Spoke fluent Spanish at his recent Madrid unveiling and the whole PR exercise stunt showed Trent's true scumbag colours i e that he was tapped by Madrid 2 years ago to run down his Liverpool contract, leave on free and gain a massive sign on fee.

So happy to see Wirtz's confirmation to Liverpool coming out so soon after Trent makes his first appearance as a Madrid player! We have shown that rat Trent that we dont need him and more importantly we have the pulling power to get a ready made world class talent, which by the way Trent aint.

Hope we play Madrid in next season's CL at Anfield and hope Trent get's booed left right and centre by the Kop! Love Jurgen Klopp to bits but have to say Jurgen was blinded by his bias favouritism when he wrongly advised Liverpool fans not to boo Trent. Liverpool fans have the right to make such a decision on their own.

[Xgenre]

Quansah, Elliot and Conor Bradley are playing in the Under 21 European Championship now. No season ending rest for them.

We have to sign a centreback or play Nat Phillips (last year of contract eith us). Otherwise we may have a defensive crisis right from the start. Tsimikas and Curtis Jones cannot play right back well.

[ThisIsMelwood]

Originally Posted by Xgenre

In Wirtz and Frimpong, we didn't just buy 2 young outstanding players. These 2 guys love playing with one another and they have telepathy between them. They know how to find each other in unmarked spaces. We basically bought Leverkusen's right sided attacking system.

Any young fans reading this thread? Feel free to join in the chat. Liverpool has been doing well and should be able to attract the next generation of fans right?

Originally Posted by escobar43535

Still buzzing after the Florian Wirtz confirmation transfer to Liverpool yesterday!

Big statement signing which hopefully enables the start of a Liverpool dominance period with the retention of the EPL. A CL thrown in as well would be fabulous but i aint greedy. Let's start with #21 first, which to me is of utmost importance as we have not won back to back league titles since our last dominant period over 35 years ago.
.

Two excellent signing.

Now Milos Kerkez confirmation soon.

Watched a video about these 3 players Firimpong, Wirtz and Kerkez. How the 3 will improve our backline and helped the forward. Oh Wirtz can play no 10 as well and he can be another SG.

Depends on sales of Nunez, Gomez, etc. Next will be CF and CB.

[escobar43535]

Yup, all 3 definitely improve and make this Liverpool EPL winning team better and stronger

Now if we can also get a quality CF and CB, i would reckon this would probably be our best transfer signing window in decades

Big Big 'IF' though

Still must give credit to Hughes and Edwards thus far, so too FSG for backing them

Originally Posted by ThisIsMelwood

Two excellent signing.

Now Milos Kerkez confirmation soon.

Watched a video about these 3 players Firimpong, Wirtz and Kerkez. How the 3 will improve our backline and helped the forward. Oh Wirtz can play no 10 as well and he can be another SG.

Depends on sales of Nunez, Gomez, etc. Next will be CF and CB.

[Xgenre]

https://faq.liverpoolfc.com/articles...e6ff44331e5684

Guys, our club has a LFC TV which produces videos about our players. It's a subscription service where we need to pay a monthly fee.

I realised we can watch some of these videos free on wechat channels. Our club is probably just trying to grow the PRC fan base. Just search under NBKOP and the latest video is about Alisson

[Xgenre]

The new fixture list is out. We will be ok. Our matches during the Christmas and New Year period are manageable. 1 month plus more till the new jersey is out.

[ThisIsMelwood]

Originally Posted by escobar43535

Yup, all 3 definitely improve and make this Liverpool EPL winning team better and stronger

Now if we can also get a quality CF and CB, i would reckon this would probably be our best transfer signing window in decades

Big Big 'IF' though

Still must give credit to Hughes and Edwards thus far, so too FSG for backing them

Victor Osimhen will be a good striker if deal with Napoli materialize.

Nunez and Chiesa will trade to Napoli and Osimhen head to Anfield.

Then dun need spent huge transfer on Ishak.

[Xgenre]

Originally Posted by ThisIsMelwood

Victor Osimhen will be a good striker if deal with Napoli materialize.

Nunez and Chiesa will trade to Napoli and Osimhen head to Anfield.

Then dun need spent huge transfer on Ishak.

Osimhen is a great player. Italian league player of the year in 2023. No doubt on ability but big doubt on character. He can be a divisive player in the dressing room. Such a high scoring striker is out on loan to Turkey's side Galatasaray because of a transfer window saga last summer.

Being from Nigeria, he will be away during the year end with Salah for the African Cup of Nations too. It will be like when we lost Mane and Salah then and both their countries went all the way to the finals.

We should have gone for Liam Delap. He joined Chelsea. He will be an upgrade on Jota.

[Xgenre]

Wirtz is officially announced 15 minutes ago.

Moving onto other transfer targets. Good times ahead

[ThisIsMelwood]

Originally Posted by Xgenre

Wirtz is officially announced 15 minutes ago.

Moving onto other transfer targets. Good times ahead

Looks like they are signing a CB and CF.

Also they are selling off those who are fringe players.

Looks like Quansah is off to Leverkusen. Nunez may follow and just matter of price. Liverpool wants to recuperate more cash. Chesa will also sold.

[Xgenre]

Guehi will be a good addition. English (we need the quota), 24 years old, captain of Crystal Palace and in the final year of contract (lower price). 23 caps for England

Only flaw is he is 1.82 m tall

[Xgenre]

I saw some Wechat analysis on Wirtz. He can play in any of the top 5 position. Szobo, MacAllister, Gakpo, Jota, Salah. So if you see his name on the starting list, you can try to guess his position by seeing which of the above 5 is missing. Then design an immediate plan to stop him defensively.

If I were the coach, I will fix the remaining 10 players, play 2 guys upfront (say gakpo and salah) and allow Wirtz to be the floating man. He will have license to roam around the top 5 positions and cause a defensive overload. Defenders mark players. If suddenly becomes 2 on 1 or 3 on 2 (Frimpong/Salah/Wirtz vs leftback and left centreback), panic sets in and Wirtz is smart enough to score or assist accordingly. Messi has the license to roam without a fixed position too.

So gravenbech, szobo, mac, gakpo, salah have rather fixed positions. Wirtz can go any space between these 5 players according to how the match flows. Only way to stop him is to fix a man marking player on him (like Park Ji Sung on Pirlo).

[totoman]

Originally Posted by Xgenre

Guehi will be a good addition. English (we need the quota), 24 years old, captain of Crystal Palace and in the final year of contract (lower price). 23 caps for England

Only flaw is he is 1.82 m tall

24hrs and yet to hit the peak . Should take him coz Konate might follow TAA ( or should i address him as Trent ) footstep to RM should be on sign an extension