Casting their minds back to that Europa League defeat by Bayer Leverkusen in early-2024, the West Ham United faithful may be wondering what all the fuss is about as the Liverpool-bound Florian Wirtz prepares to become the most expensive transfer in British football history.
Leverkusen’s three goals over the two legs came via Jonas Hoffman, Victor Boniface and the similarly Anfield-destined Jeremy Frimpong.
The closest Florian Wirtz came to breaking the Hammers’ resistance, however, saw the Bundesliga champion miscue a Frimpong cross during that 1-1 second-leg draw at the London Stadium.
This was certainly not the finish of a £126 million man, Wirtz set to break all sorts of Premier League records when he joins Liverpool for £20 million more than the fee Arsenal paid to lure Declan Rice away from West Ham United two summers earlier.
And make no mistake, if Wirtz is guilty of failing to convert similar openings during his first few weeks in Liverpool red, it will not take long before he suffers the same treatment which befell Paul Pogba at Manchester United, Enzo Fernandez at Chelsea and Jack Grealish at Man City.
Yet after Wirtz effortlessly carried Bayer Leverkusen’s title hopes on his still-broadening shoulders in 2023/24 – Xabi Alonso’s record-setting outfit finally claiming the Bundesliga shield for the first time in their long history – only the bravest of pundits will cast doubt on the fearless playmaker’s ability to handle the pressure of such an exorbitant price-tag.
Florian Wirtz in action during Bayer 04 Leverkusen v West Ham United FC: Quarter-Final First Leg - UEFA Europa League 2023/24
Photo by Jan Fromme – firo sportphoto/Getty Images
Former West Ham United director Tim Steidten took Florian Wirtz to Bayer Leverkusen
Florian Wirtz, at the age of just 22, has already earned 31 caps for Germany.
He has won a Bundesliga title and a DFB Pokal, featured in a major European trophy, scored 57 goals, provided 65 assists, and bounced back better than ever from an ACL injury.
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Becoming the most expensive signing in Liverpool and Premier League history, then, is just the latest chapter in a story with more plot points than most players accumulate in their entire footballing careers.
A story which might not have even got beyond the first pace if it wasn’t for the trust placed in him by Bayer Leverkusen.
And when the time comes for Wirtz to tell his tale, there should be a few kind words dedicated to Tim Steidten.
West Ham’s technical director from 2023 to 2025, Steidten spent three years working as the head of scouting at Bayer Leverkusen before heading to the London Stadium. And while many of his deals at West Ham failed to live up to early expectations – Niclas Fullkrug and Luis Guilerme cost £50 million combined last summer, for instance – the role Steidten played in turning Bayer Leverkusen into a Bundesliga-winning force should not be understated.
Patrik Schick, Jeremy Frimpong, Edmond Tapsoba, Exequiel Palacios and Robert Andrich all arrived on his watch.
Comfortably Steidten’s best piece of work, however, was the deal which brought a 16-year-old Florian Wirtz to the Bay Arena back in 2020. A deal which, according to Buli News, set Leverkusen back as little as £170,000.
“From the Under-8s to the Under-13s, we scout within a 100 kilometre radius of Leverkusen,” Steidten once told Watson, a baby-faced Wirtz making the 37km journey from Koln to their North Rhine-Westphalia neighbours.
“The goal is to get to know the players in this region as well as possible.
“We don’t proactively approach young players who are under contract with FC Koln, Gladbach, or Dortmund and are happy there. However, if a player’s contract expires, or there’s no longer any connection to his training club, that’s a different story.”
Liverpool-bound Florian Wirtz left Koln in controversial transfer
Booed by Koln fans on his return to the Cathedral City, there was relatively little sympathy among sections of the visiting support when Wirtz ruptured his cruciate ligament against his old employers in 2022.
“I can understand that [Koln] were disappointed and that their fans are still angry about it,” Wirtz would later reflect via 11 Freunde and BILD. “But I feel very comfortable in Leverkusen.”
“Of course it affects you when you played for Cologne for many years, became a youth champion there, and then get booed at the stadium.
“[But] my switch to Leverkusen at U17 level was solely my decision,” Wirtz added, the aforementioned Steidten helping to sell Die Werkself as a club where his prodigious potential could be emphatically realised.
“I saw better prospects for myself in Leverkusen, and it worked out that way too.”
Five years later, any lingering disappointment at Koln should be offset by an impending windfall making its way to another corner of North Rhine-Westphalia. Koln will benefit financially from a sell-on clause they wrote into Florian Wirtz’s contract half-a-decade ago.
A contract Tim Steidten helped turn into a reality.