For those who still recall the name Nabil Fekir, it was only when Florian Wirtz's medical had been passed and he was confirmed as a Liverpool player that they allowed themselves to feel a sense of excitement.
However, after successfully completing his medical examinations on Friday without any hitches, Wirtz is now officially the most expensive player in Anfield's history. The Premier League champions will shell out an initial $135 million for the German international, with an additional $22 million potentially making the 22-year-old a British transfer record.
It's maintained that Wirtz would need to be an extraordinary success to reach these lofty heights, but that is the desired outcome for all involved following a statement signing that only bolsters a squad that strolled to the title by 10 points, despite not winning any of their final four matches.
Some of the unease for those who still remember how the $67M deal for Fekir dramatically fell through in the summer of 2018 were based on a serious knee injury sustained by Wirtz back in March of 2022 at Leverkusen.
In the Rhineland derby against his former club Koln, Wirtz lost his balance just before the half-hour mark while dribbling against defender Luca Kilian, twisting his left knee in the process.
An MRI scan was carried out almost immediately after Wirtz's withdrawal by Leverkusen, confirming that the attacking midfielder had torn the anterior cruciate ligament. It was a cruel stroke of luck for the then 18-year-old, but misfortune was all it was.
Wirtz was sidelined for a total of 272 days, making his return in December 2022 while his international teammates were battling it out at the Qatar World Cup.
Florian Wirtz suffered a serious injury in 2022 that kept him out for 43 games
Florian Wirtz suffered a serious injury in 2022 that kept him out for 43 games (Image: Getty Images)
After enduring months of gruelling rehabilitation, Wirtz was finally deemed fit enough to join the rest of the Leverkusen squad on a mid-season trip to the United States in November of that year, although he didn't participate in a friendly victory over MLS team St Louis City.
However, he did make a comeback, playing for around half an hour in a 3-0 loss to Rangers a few days later. "He's like a fantastic new signing for us," former manager Xabi Alonso commented at the time.
"With Flo, we're a better team and I'm also a better coach."
"I'm exhausted," Wirtz admitted after his return. "I'm not used to the pace after being out for nine months. All in all it was a disappointing game from us, which is why I'm not in the best of moods right now. But I think that will change later in the day, once the penny drops how important this day was for me.
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"Because it was so cold here, my lungs hurt," he added. "My fitness level is actually pretty good, but there were a lot of emotions involved today. It was more difficult mentally, which then affects your body. I could feel that today.
"Each time I got the ball, I felt there was something I still need to work on, to recover that feeling for receiving the ball and playing it first time. I made a few mistakes."
Initially, there was a glimmer of hope and strong resolve from Wirtz to make an appearance at Qatar, with the World Cup's unique mid-season timing still nine months ahead. However, he wisely refrained from committing to a rigorous push for inclusion in Germany's squad, commenting: "My big goal after the injury was simply to be 100 per cent fit again. That's still the case. I have to keep concentrating on getting 100 per cent fit. All that matters now is to take the next steps in training."
During the recovery period, Alonso, who was appointed as Leverkusen boss while Wirtz was sidelined, demonstrated such dedication to monitoring his player's rehabilitation that he regularly showed up at the club's training ground during his days off throughout the World Cup. He even partook in five-a-side games at the Performance Centre to assess the remarkable potential in Wirtz.
Florian Wirtz is the latest player to join Liverpool ahead of the 2025/26 season
Florian Wirtz is the latest player to join Liverpool ahead of the 2025/26 season (Image: Getty Images)
Alonso was so impressed by Wirtz's abilities that he swiftly made him the linchpin of his strategic blueprint. In less than two years, Leverkusen celebrated an undefeated campaign in the Bundesliga and clinched their first-ever league title while also capturing the German Cup. They also finished as runners-up in the Europa League.
Throughout his recovery in 2022, Wirtz missed out on 43 matches; however, any anxiety that these absences would cause ongoing issues, which sometimes plague players, has been alleviated by Wirtz's subsequent injury record.
An inner ligament injury saw him sidelined for a month between early March and April of the previous season, but that is the only significant issue he's faced since his long-term setback where he missed more than one match, as per Transfermarkt's data.
With Arne Slot and his team successfully maintaining the squad's health for the majority of the last season, contributing significantly to their success, there's real hope that Wirtz will become a fixture in the team for the foreseeable future.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can read the original story in the Liverpool ECHO by clicking here.