Former Premier League players Micah Richards and Alan Shearer have both raised doubts over Florian Wirtz’s imminent arrival at Liverpool.
The Reds have flown out of the blocks in the summer transfer market with their early Premier League title win helping them getting their transfer plans moving.
Jeremie Frimpong has already signed in a £29.5m deal from Bayer Leverkusen, while Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez has reportedly agreed personal terms ahead of a potential move.
But their marquee signing of the summer would be Wirtz with Liverpool reportedly making two bids for the Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder so far.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed earlier this week that Liverpool are ‘optimistic’ that they can get a deal over the line with more negotiations coming.
Romano wrote on X: ‘Liverpool remain confident to finalize Florian Wirtz deal as new round of talks has been scheduled this week. Club optimistic to get the agreement sealed with Bayer Leverkusen soon.’
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After a quick start to the transfer with Wirtz quickly agreeing to join Liverpool and the Reds putting their first bid on the table, reports in Germany recently claimed that the deal is ‘stalling somewhat’.
Despite obviously identifying a very talented footballer, Richards and Shearer have concerns that Wirtz could find the “physical” side of the game in England a struggle.
Shearer asked Richards on The Rest Is Football podcast: “Is he that good Micah?”
To which Richards replied: “He’s exceptional. Obviously, he’s got to do it in a league which is more physical. That is my only doubt. It’s my only doubt. Tactically, he’s got it. Technically, he’s got it.
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“The way he manipulates the ball… he was a superstar from a young age, so he can deal with pressure. It’s just, where does he fit into the system?
“Is he gonna play in Dominik Szoboszlai’s role? Or is he gonna play him out on the left-hand side, because he can do both, and honestly, for £120million he’s worth every single penny.”
Shearer added: “I’ve seen him quite a bit this season in the Champions League, and there’s no doubt he’s a really, really talented player.
“It’s a hell of a lot of money, but I think he’ll be a success. I would say the same in terms of the physical side of things. With technical ability and all of that, he’s a very, very good player.”
Leverkusen are seemingly holding out for a fee of around €150m after a €130m offer from Liverpool was recently turned down and German newspaper Bild insist that Wirtz’s former club Koln could delay things.
The Bundesliga side could be owed ‘training compensation’ after played a key role in the player’s development between the ages of 12 to 23, as per the FIFA rules.
Wirtz was at Koln for nine years between the ages of seven and 16 and if a €150m deal is struck then Koln would be entitled to five per cent, or €7.5m.
Koln chief executive Werner Wolf said: “Of course, we are looking into it. We know what we are entitled to and will fight for it.
“We’re looking at this with both eyes. We’ll benefit from it. The higher the sum Liverpool is willing to pay, the better for us.”
Bild journalist Christian Falk insists Bayern Munich took a “hard punch” when Wirtz rejected a move to Bavaria with Liverpool showing the pull of the Premier League.
Falk told CF Bayern Insider: “It was a hard punch for the Bayern bosses to miss out on Florian Wirtz.
“You can understand the likes of Erling Haaland or Jude Bellingham deciding to leave the Bundesliga for top clubs, like Manchester City and Real Madrid, outside of Germany – as they’re not German. Going to Bayern Munich won’t matter as much to them. But it’s the first time that a German player decided against Bayern.”
“They were interested, and I think this is really, really hard for Bayern Munich. It’s disappointing to hear that it wasn’t even a question of money; it’s said that Wirtz will earn €20m-22m per annum at Liverpool. Bayern offered more – they would have paid about €24m – so, this is doubly hard for FC Bayern to accept.”