Florian Wirtz wasted no time in dismissing claims he wanted the Liverpool number 10 jersey off Alexis Mac Allister this week
Florian Wirtz of Germany and Alexis Mac Allister of Liverpool
Florian Wirtz of Germany and Alexis Mac Allister of Liverpool
(Image: Getty Images)
Florian Wirtz might have just quietly won the approval of the Liverpool dressing room when alluding to his possible move to Anfield this week. The Reds remain in talks with Bayer Leverkusen regarding a would-be club-record move for the Germany international.
Liverpool have seen two bids rejected for the 22-year-old to date, with the latest totalling £109m. But all parties remain confident that a deal will be agreed this summer.
Amid the ongoing transfer saga, Wirtz is currently away on international duty as Germany compete in the Nations League finals. But he briefly stepped away from preparations for their semi-final clash with Portugal to rubbish one claim about his possible move to Liverpool on Tuesday night.
READ MORE: Jeremie Frimpong opens up on decision to join Liverpool and details Arne Slot talks - 'They told me'
Reports in Germany had claimed that Wirtz was demanding the number 10 shirt at Anfield, despite the fact it is already under the ownership of Alexis Mac Allister.
The German quickly took to Instagram to emphatically rubbish some claims as he wrote on his story: “Who says I want the [ten emoji] I respect players. Don't believe everything what's written [clown emoji].”
Aside from acknowledging the transfer talks being held with Liverpool in the process, such an outburst might also go down well in the Reds dressing room as Wirtz made sure to set the record straight.
Had he really been demanding the number 10 shirt off Mac Allister, noses could have been put out of joint at Anfield.
Instead, by affirming his respect for Liverpool’s ranks, he has arguably passed one unofficial Reds test - the ‘no k***heads’ rule.
Former Liverpool vice-captain James Milner previously explained that part of the reason why the Reds had proven to be so strong under Jurgen Klopp was because of their recruitment and the strength of their dressing room.
Put simply, 'We don't sign any k***heads'.
“Liverpool have great recruiters, they wouldn’t sign any k***heads,” he said ahead of the 2022 Champions League final. “Sport is all mental, you can have all the ability in the world, but it’s the attitude.
“The dressing room is incredible. The group of guys we have, there’s not one dodgy character in there. Not one.
“And you always say that in interviews but here you don’t have to lie! It’s ridiculous.
“And that’s credit to recruitment but everyone in the dressing room gets on really well. The guys coming in feel part of something straight away.”
It might be simple but Wirtz’s public admission is an early sign that he too will fit in with the current dressing room.
By insisting that he respects the current ranks and has no designs on Mac Allister’s number 10 shirt, he has proven himself to not be a k***head. Well done, Florian!
Meanwhile, coming from Argentina, it is perhaps no surprise that the number 10 shirt - synonymous with both Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi - actually means quite a lot to Mac Allister.
"Wearing the Liverpool number 10 is huge,” he recently toldLatin American sports channel DSports Radio. “It means a huge responsibility, both on and off the pitch. Number 10 is definitely a responsibility, but I take it in my stride.
"When you're playing, you're not constantly looking at your number, but in general I want to enjoy playing football: and I really enjoy it."
The number 10 was also his shirt of choice after joining Liverpool, spurning the number eight in the process.
“I know how important the number 10 is in football,” he said at the time. “I had the possibility to take the number eight as well, which is a big number for this club because of Gerrard of course.
“But I decided for number 10 because I used it a lot of times in Argentina, in Brighton, Under-23s national team as well. So it’s a number that I really like and that’s why I chose it.”