Florian Wirtz may well still end up at Bayern Munich but even if he does there’s plenty to enjoy in this transfer saga from a Liverpool point of view.
Florian Wirtz is a generational talent. The 22-year-old is widely hailed as the best German young player in football, a dynamic and hard-working 22-year-old attacking midfielder and forward already amongst the top creative players in the game.
Florian Wirtz has for years been presumed to have his future locked in as a star with Bayern Munich. That was always meant to be his next step—and if not Bayern, there were whispers of interest from Spanish giants Real Madrid and English big spending sportswashing front Manchester City.
Liverpool were never really meant to be in the mix. Right up until it appears that they very much were, with the switch flipped for the public about a week ago now when the player and his family visited the club and the news drip out of Germany shifted.
The latest comes from Kicker, who claim the player plans on making his decision within ten days and that it will between favourites Bayern and upstarts Liverpool. And that “Bayern fears Liverpool” and only Liverpool at this stage in the Wirtz race.
Since last week’s shift in the narrative, City have backed out—claiming potential high costs which will raise eyebrows given City’s access basically unlimited funds and that it’s a line they’ve gone to in the past when beaten to top players. Meanwhile, it’s clear Madrid have other priorities this summer.
It’s difficult, from a Liverpool point of view, to think success is likely. The easy path for Wirtz is clear, to remain in Germany, join the perennial title winners, and rack up silverware over the next decade. There’s a case, though, that having won the Bundesliga with Leverkusen, the challenge of the Premier League might appeal.
And even if Liverpool do in the end miss out, it’s worth remembering a week ago nobody thought they were in this race. A week ago, if Wirtz didn’t join Bayern, everybody thought it would be City. We’ll take if not Bayern, Liverpool any day of the week over that.