Liverpool have shrugged off the malaise of the 2022/23 campaign, but it's perhaps understandable that there are some residual problems despite the successful midfield rebuild.
Such issues were evidenced in bleak light at Kenilworth Road last weekend, where newly-promoted Luton Town stifled the Reds with a dogged, resilient display, with Luis Diaz's emotional late equaliser salvaging a point that was perhaps not quite deserved.
Nonetheless, Liverpool claimed a point on the road and advanced to third place in the Premier League following Arsenal's defeat against Newcastle United – should Tottenham Hotspur fail to beat Chelsea, Jurgen Klopp's side will be just three points off the peak.
The priority will be securing defensive reinforcements to the backline and midfield, strengthening the squad and establishing balance.
However, such needs have not stopped Florian Wirtz's name from entering transfer speculation, with the talented Germany international potentially unlocking a new level of the Reds' frontline.
Liverpool transfer news
According to the Star – via the Daily Mail – Liverpool have identified Wirtz as a potential successor to Mohamed Salah's role as the Anfield side's all-conquering forward force.
Valued at around £80m, European juggernauts such as Chelsea, Manchester City and Bayern Munich are also hoping to secure the Bayer Leverkusen prodigy's signature, but Klopp hopes to use his contacts in his homeland (and Liverpool's link to Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso) to seal the deal.
Manchester United, while keen admirers of the dynamic star, are reportedly out of the running given the circumstances surrounding the club, which could pave the way for Liverpool to enter formal negotiations in 2024.
Florian Wirtz's style of play
Described as an "elite talent" by informed scout Jacek Kulig, Wirtz is blooming into quite the player and has been at the heart of his German side's resounding start to the season, who top the Bundesliga table after ten matches, two points ahead of Bayern Munich.
The 12-cap star has scored 29 goals and supplied 39 assists from 118 senior appearances for his outfit, though his remarkable start to life on the senior stage took a big, bruising blow after an ACL injury two years ago.
The £42k-per-week ace rebounded from his injury with an impressive reintegration last season, however, clinching four goals and four assists from just 19 starts across all competitions.
Strengths
Weaknesses
Key passes
Aerial duels
Dribbling
Passing
Through balls
Ball retention
*Sourced via WhoScored
As per FBref, the 20-year-old ranks among the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for assists and attempted passes, the top 3% for shot-creating actions and progressive passes and the top 4% for successful take-ons per 90.
These metrics encapsulate the scope of Wirtz's ability, really highlighting just how effective he is in attacking sequences, belying his age and the shocking injury that could have tainted his development.
While his supplementation has been noted, Wirtz is also growing into a clinical presence, and though his nine assists from 15 matches are breathtaking numbers for one so young, he has also scored six goals, having unleashed two shots per game in the Bundesliga.
Liverpool's interest might come as a surprise to some given the importance of signing a sturdy anchor for the midfield and adding to a backline that clearly needs buttressing, but Klopp is seemingly enamoured by his prodigious countryman, and will monitor his progress regardless.
His versatility is evidently a factor, basically capable of impressing across the park; deep-lying midfield, destructive wideman, dynamic centre-forward, Wirtz has the whole gamut and could prove to be Klopp's very own Heung-min Son, who he has drawn comparisons to.
How Florian Wirtz compares to Heung-min Son
It's hard to believe that one so talented and effective in their craft is still in the embryonic stage of their career, but Wirtz's rise speaks volumes of his skill set and ability to cement a spot at the very forefront of the game.
Son has recently been playing – very well – centrally, but has typically been utilised on the left wing since signing for Tottenham from, as it happens, Bayer Leverkusen in a £22m transfer in 2015, having now posted 153 goals and 81 assists across 383 outings for the London club.
#
Player
Club
1
Dejan Kuusevski
Tottenham
2
Heung-min Son
Tottenham
3
James Maddison
Tottenham
4
Bryan Mbeumo
Brentford
5
Marco Reus
Borussia Dortmund
*Sourced via Football Transfers
As the table delineates, Wirtz is both an incisive forward and a seamless, prolific creator, and seems to be something of a hybrid between Son and James Maddison of Tottenham Hotspur, with Dejan Kulusevski also likened.
Spurs' deadly attacking duo, Maddison and Son play rather different roles in Postecoglou's system, with the former serving as the chief playmaker in the centre of the park, and doing so with aplomb, while the South Korean menace wreaks havoc in the final third.
Indeed, following Harry Kane's sale to Bayern Munich in the summer, there were perhaps a few arched eyebrows after Postecoglou opted not to replace the club's record scorer with an established, first-class finisher.
Why? Tottenham already wielded one of the finest strikers in the Premier League, and since Son's shift into the centre-forward role this term, he has plundered eight goals from seven matches, illustrating his prowess at the focal point.
Wirtz might thrive in a No. 10 kind of role, picking passes and dragging defenders around like a lion toying with fatigued prey, but he has often been deployed on the left flank and has more recently been utilised in a striking role, playing off the striker.
Described as an "extraordinary player" by sporting director Simon Rolfes, Wirtz is indisputably one of the most exciting offensive talents in Europe right now, and has indeed found success in his finishing ability, chance creation and silky motions through the half-spaces.
Should Liverpool get their hands on him, he could play a role on the left side of the attack and could even fill in as the central spearhead.
The first port of call for Klopp's transfer team might be to shore up the defensive side of the squad, but in the long-term, there are few attacking outlets of greater potential that could wreak havoc in the final third than Wirtz, and if an opportunity arises, he simply must be signed.