Liverpool told which player will benefit most from new signing in frightening assessment

A European football expert has explained why Liverpool signing Florian Wirtz is an even greater coup than you might think, and also named Mohamed Salah as the player who’ll benefit the most in a frightening thought for the rest of the Premier League.

Wirtz will become Liverpool’s most expensive signing of all time when completing his transfer next week. A medical is not expected to take place until Wirtz has returned from a personal holiday next Wednesday.

Nevertheless, personal terms and now a club-to-club agreement with Bayer Leverkusen have been sealed. Depending on who you believe, the package Liverpool have committed to is either €150m/£127m or €136m/£116m.

Wirtz’s primary position at Leverkusen was the No 10 role. That is a position that Arne Slot does field in his 4-2-3-1 formation, though Wirtz’s versatility allows him to operate anywhere across a forward line as and when required.

The move is a statement of intent from the reigning Premier League champions and has certainly impressed European football expert, Andy Brassell.

The knowledgeable pundit gave his honest assessment of the coup and explained why Wirtz could take Salah’s goalscoring exploits to even greater heights.

That is a frightening thought for Liverpool’s title rivals given Salah is coming off a season in which he scored 29 times in the league and was named Premier League Player of the Season.

“He’s one of the best midfield players in Europe,” began Brassell when speaking to Sky Sports News. “You look at the age and you’re getting 10 years service out of him notwithstanding any injuries.

“I remember speaking to Xabi Alonso about him last season and him saying ‘look, everyone is trusted in this [Leverkusen] team to fulfil their role, but has to fulfil their role within the tactical set-up’.

“Whereas he said ‘Flo gets a little bit more of a pass because I trust him to do stuff in the right places at the right time’.

“Someone like [Wirtz] I think really shows us that Arne Slot wants to develop Liverpool into more of his own team.”

Wirtz can transform Salah into pure goalscorer

Brassell continued: “Wirtz gives them loads of options. We’ve seen him play as a False 9, we’ve seen him play as a 10. We’ve seen him even for Germany in wider positions cutting inside.

“If you’re looking at the fact that Liverpool maybe don’t have the centre-forward they want at the moment because they’re not getting that out of Darwin Nunez, it maybe gives them a front three with a completely different shape.

“Maybe it turns into a front two, be it Salah and Gakpo or Diaz and Salah, whoever it might be.

“And it takes a lot of the creative load off Salah as well so he can just score goals and maybe spare himself some of the other running that they don’t want him to do so much as he goes into his 30s.

“Wirtz was one of the main bright spots for Germany during the Nations League as well, he’s a great player for his country, so adaptable.

“He’s costing a lot of money for a reason, but for [Liverpool] to get him to reject Bayern Munich… he obviously really believes in this.”

Another two ways in which Liverpool will benefit from inserting Wirtz into their starting are perhaps not being spoken about enough.

Much is being made of the goals, assists and general creativity he’ll add, though Wirtz is also a pressing machine and highly resistant to opposition pressure too.

Delving into the underlying data, The Times’ Paul Joyce wrote: ‘Liverpool will benefit from the best years of his career and, in return, they are gaining not only an attacker but also a first defender.

‘In the Bundesliga last season, only Bayern’s Michael Olise (37 times) won possession more than Wirtz’s 35 in the final third, which demonstrates his willingness to press.

‘And he can handle being pressed, too. Among wingers and attacking midfielders with 200 or more passes attempted under high-intensity pressure in the Champions League in 2024-25, only City’s Phil Foden (89.4 per cent, with 194 successful passes from 217 attempted) ranked ahead of Wirtz (88.8 per cent, with 302 from 340) for completion rate.’

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