Jurgen Klopp believes Florian Wirtz’s time at Liverpool will be defined by the answer to one major question.
The legendary Reds boss is a vocal supporter of the club’s swoop for the German superstar but knows success is no guarantee.
Wirtz inked a five-year deal with Liverpool in June as he made a £100million switch from Bayer Leverkusen – and that could rise to £116m with add-ons.
He was left out of the squad for their first pre-season game against Preston – a 3-1 win at Deepdale – despite other new faces in Giorgi Mamardashvili, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, and Freddie Woodman getting some minutes in. That exclusion was part of a deliberate fitness management strategy.
And the major question for Klopp is: where will Wirtz fit in?
‘Yes (he will establish himself), although of course I don’t know exactly which position Arne has in mind for Florian,’ said Klopp.
Liverpool need to work out where they should play Florian Wirtz, according to Arne Slot
The former Reds boss has hailed Wirtz as an ‘exceptional talent’, but where does he fit in?
Arne Slot could deploy him as an attacking midfielder, a false nine, a winger, or in a deeper role
There are an array of options open to Slot.
Arguably Wirtz’s best position is as a central attacking midfielder. He played there most freqently for Bayer Leverkusen and that frees him up to impact play majorly – last season he scored 16 goals and assisted a further 15.
Alternatively, Slot could look to deploy Wirtz as a false nine, dragging defenders out and making more space for Liverpool’s wide players to cut in – something Mohamed Salah loves to do especially.
Another idea would be to shove Wirtz out wide, perhaps to the left wing. This is not a position he is overly accustomed with, but given how Luis Diaz’s future is up in the air amid interest from Barcelona and Bayern Munich, he could be asked to play there sometimes.
Alternately, Wirtz could be asked to play in a deeper role as a number eight.
This could make sense if Slot wanted to deploy a midfield three with Dominik Szoboszlai still given some free reign as an eight alongside him, with one star – likely either Ryan Gravenberch or Alexis Mac Allister – sitting in as a number six.
There is no doubt about Wirtz’s destructive ability and as such Slot will likely want to maximise chances of getting him into dangerous areas.
But he will also be weighing up what suits the rest of the team. If Wirtz plays in attacking midfield, for example, then Liverpool would likely have two more defensive central midfielders, and that would raise questions for Szoboszlai.
After Wirtz signed for Liverpool, Klopp told RTL/NTV: ‘This is going to be absolutely fantastic, I’m sure of it.
‘It’s very hard to strengthen a team when you’re champions. But Liverpool have managed it.
‘They’ve signed an exceptional talent in Florian Wirtz. I’m looking forward to seeing it. It’s going to be great.’
