If Liverpool gets a deal over the line for Bayer Leverkusen playmaker Florian Wirtz this summer, it will comfortably break its own transfer record. It is likely to break the British transfer record (currently set by Moises Caicedo) too.
With that, of course, will come a level of pressure. But Wirtz has been identified as a game-changing signing. He scored 16 goals and laid on another 15 for his teammates last season, and has a huge level of potential given he is just 22.
But what is it like to be a player who costs so much, and has such expectations thrust upon them? Stan Collymore cost Liverpool a British record $11.5 million (£8.5 million) from Nottingham Forest in 1995.
In 2022, The Athletic calculated that Collymore's transfer fee would be the equivalent of around $180 million (£133 million) in the modern era — the most expensive Liverpool player of all time, adjusted for soccer inflation.
Collymore scored 35 goals in 81 games for Liverpool before Michael Owen emerged and he moved to Aston Villa. But he knows better than most what it is like to come into the limelight in such a way.
"The slight discomfort from me, having been a big Liverpool signing, is that Liverpool traditionally have made players," Collymore tells Liverpool.com. "People will say 'look at how much they have spent in the last 20 years', and I get it, but with players that have lots of room to develop.
Germany international and Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz
Germany international and Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz (Image: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
"Don't get me wrong, Florian Wirtz has got a lot of room to develop, which in itself is a very exciting prospect, but they haven't gone down the road that Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City have gone down — big, blockbuster signings.
"The last time it happened was Alberto Aquilani when there were banners on The Kop before he had even played a game. It feels a little bit like that in terms of it being 'wow'.
"This was a guy who was going to go to Bayern Munich, or if not Bayern Munich then Real Madrid or Manchester City, for example. So from a Liverpool perspective, it is kind of like saying 'we are here now and we want to maintain our position and fire a warning shot across the bows of Europe's best clubs, to attack the Champions League'.
"I hope — because Liverpool are so used to developing players and making them into superstars — that having someone coming in as a superstar, they can manage that carefully and not let it become about the cult of Florian Wirtz. I just hope that he is allowed to settle in and just be one of the lads, where there is a seamless transition on the pitch."
Florian Wirtz.
Florian Wirtz. (Image: Photo by Alexander Hassenstein - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
A deal for Wirtz, who will play for Germany midweek against Portugal, is not over the line yet. But Liverpool is very keen to snap him up even for such a high price.
"I'd like to see very dampened down messaging from the club — no pianos, like Alexis Sanchez, when he signed for Man United," Collymore, speaking on behalf of New Betting Offers, said.
"No big, over-the-top unveiling. Just 'we are delighted to sign Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen on a four-year contract' — the same that they did with Jeremie Frimpong.
"If Liverpool do it like that, then he will settle much quicker than if he comes in as a superstar. If the club indulge that and do what Manchester United have to their cost over many transfers, there could be a problem.
"I think Liverpool should and will help him. It all starts on the reveal. Manchester United made a rod for their own back with the likes of Sanchez and Paul Pogba because it was kind of like embracing the Galactico thing.
Florian Wirtz
Florian Wirtz (Image: Getty Images)
"There is a temptation with any club to say 'we're champions of England and look who we can buy'. But I think that is very anti-Liverpool.
"It happened a bit when I signed. It was made a very big deal instead of just getting me through the door and letting me settle in. Every good game, it was 'the record transfer has scored'. Every bad game, it was 'the record transfer hasn't played well'. And that gets in the way.
"It is the Ronaldo-ism of football, if you like, when he was at Manchester United. A number of Manchester United managers had to deal with Cristiano Ronaldo in a press conference before they got to the other players in the team.
"I don't want Arne Slot on a weekly basis going into his weekly presser and the first question is about Florian Wirtz. You save the big stuff for Mo Salah, because Mo has earned the right to be the top man.
"You give him the crown and you give him all the grand things in football. But Wirtz hasn't earned it yet and because he is only 22, he has got to get to that position by playing well week in, week out.
Liverpool could be facing a new Florian Wirtz problem
Liverpool could be facing a new Florian Wirtz problem (Image: Getty Images)
"I've been in that position, so I'm not just another pundit waffling. [My advice] would be to be as low-key around Wirtz as possible from the social media people to Arne Slot, and he will be able to get into the team.
"The temptation might be to give the bells and whistles but Liverpool are looked at as a club who always make legends rather than buys them. They should be as understated as possible."
In terms of where Wirtz could fit in at Liverpool, Collymore firmly believes that he will be a midfielder more than a forward. He has played both roles for Leverkusen.
"I think he will be defined as a midfielder so it could be Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and him — and Wirtz is allowed to get forward, with the other two doing more of the dog work," Collymore says. "I can't see three midfielders and him because he will fundamentally change the shape of the team.
"The three in front is really interesting. You have obviously got Mo which is one and the others, there are pros and cons for keeping and selling all of them.
Florian Wirtz of Bayer 04 Leverkusen looks on during the 1.Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund at BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany on May 11, 2025. (Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(Image: Getty Images)
"Would you give Darwin Nunez an opportunity as the center forward when you have a number 10 who is hopefully going to be camped on the edge of the opponent's box clipping little balls through to the likes of Mo?
"If you have a player who is going to be on the edge of the D or five yards back from that and he can slip a ball through, who is going to benefit most? Diogo Jota, certainly, with his movement, and Luis Diaz, absolutely.
"Nunez, the Nunez of Benfica was a very good finisher, and Salah needs no introduction. So I do wonder whether they might just keep as many as he can for as long as he can, just to see what they work like with Wirtz.
"I imagine they have plenty of PSR headroom with plenty of incomings and outgoings. Wirtz is just another three-dimensional key. Mo Salah and Sadio Mane were the two main players who did it for many years, picking the ball up in the opponent's half, either right or left, and making up that ground to get in the box to score goals or create chances.
"Wirtz will automatically get into those positions in that role in a central position. All of a sudden, you have someone who can provide plenty of ammo for the forwards.
"I couldn't in good faith look at all of Liverpool's forward options and say with a better degree of service, I would be aghast to say I would find any of them would be better than they were last season. I wonder if Slot might hang on for as long as possible and keep as many as possible, but he wants to trim down, the obvious two are Nunez and Diaz."