Florian Wirtz is closing in on a Premier League record-breaking move to Liverpool
The German international is set to become the most expensive footballer in Premier League history, with his poised transfer looking destined to surpass Chelsea's £115m fee Chelsea paid Brighton to sign Moises Caicedo in August 2023. The signing of Wirtz sends out a huge statement of intent to the rest of the Premier League as Arne Slot aims to become the first Liverpool boss since Bob Paisley 1980s to win consecutive league titles after a stellar debut campaign at Anfield.
Wirtz arrives with great expectations five incredibly successful years with Bayer Leverkusen which have saw him spearhead the club to their first ever Bundesliga title, a German Cup and a Europa League final, all while in 2023/24 becoming the first team in German football history finish a top-flight season unbeaten.
The 22-year-old has established himself as one of the most sought after young footballers on the planet and his transfer to Liverpool could prove to be crucial in shaping the side’s long-term future at the top of English football.
He’s also likely to be one of the first names on many fans' Fantasy Football shortlists due to his immense creativity and his ability to score important goals. But how is Wirtz likely to adapt to the demands of English football in his debut season? Liverpool World asked AI - and this was its intriguing response.
AI predicts sublime debut season for Florian Wirtz at Liverpool
AI’s Grok tool describes Florian Wirtz as a versatile and attacking midfielder that can play both as a No.10 and out wide depending on what the team requires him to do. He’s expected to play as a central attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Mohamed Salah playing on the right and Luis Diaz playing on the left behind a forward like Cody Gakpo unless a new striker is acquired in the coming weeks.
Based on this prediction and with Wirtz being fit and available for all 38 league games, AI expects the 22-year-old to register around 10 goals and 12 assists in the league in his debut campaign. However, when factoring in other competitions such as the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup, it’s expected these numbers could increase to around 16 goals and 18 assists across all competitions.
This forecast is based on AI’s verdict that Liverpool will win the Premier League with around 91-93 points, reach the semi-final of the League Cup, progress one step further to the quarter-final of the Champions League and crash out in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
How Florian Wirtz has fared in recent seasons
Florian Wirtz was introduced into the Bayer Leverkusen team at the end of the 2019/20 season, meaning he’s had five full seasons as a regular in at the BayArena. He was still a teenager in the 2020/21 season but made an impression with eight goals and as many assists in 38 matches in all competitions as he earned a first senior call-up for Germany.
Wirtz followed that up with 10 goals and 14 assists from 31 matches the following season to help his team climb from sixth to third in the league. That particular season was cut short by a serious ACL injury which derailed his output significantly the following campaign as he managed just 25 appearances, scoring four times and registering eight assists, with many of his minutes coming as a substitute as he regained fitness.
During his time under Xabi Alonso, Wirtz excelled into one of the most exciting prospects in the game, he managed 18 goals and 20 assists in the 2023/24 season, making him the second most productive player in Europe’s top five leaguesin terms of goal contributions behind Cole Palmer. While last season, he was also hugely impressive with 16 goals and 15 assists in 45 matches across all competitions.
When not factoring in the 2022/23 season which was blighted by injury, and his debut season where he only played seven times in 2019/20, Wirtz averages 13 goals and 14.25 assists per season based on his output at Leverkusen. However, it’s worth bearing in mind, Wirtz has developed since then and the fact that he’ll be playing with stars such as Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz, who are more clinical in front of goal than many of his previous team-mates.
Continue Reading