Wirtz's footballing familypublished at 12:58 British Summer Time 13 June
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Image source, Getty Images
Florian Wirtz's rise to the top of European football has firmly been a family affair. He is the youngest of 10 siblings; sister Juliane plays for Werder Bremen and mum Karin is a handball coach.
And then there is Florian's father, Hans-Joachim (pictured above with Julian Nagelsmann), who continues to act as his son's agent whilst in his early 70s, negotiating an £116m transfer deal at the same time as running an amateur football club in the family's hometown of Pulheim, just outside Cologne.
"It's a bit different when you are running a Sunday league team basically as opposed to leading negotiations with Liverpool," German football writer Constantin Eckner told 5 Live Sport.
"It's of course not typical in today's world but it might give you a different sense of how things should work for you in your career, as opposed to when you have like a really cutthroat agent who is looking for the highest profit."
Get Involved - 'Coutinho was supposed to take Barca to next level'published at 12:50 British Summer Time 13 June
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I when Barcelona spent £105m on Coutinho as the player to take them to the next level. Doesn’t always work. Wirtz, though, is clearly a brilliant player.
One player whose future is looking increasingly uncertain at Liverpool is Darwin Nunez.
The Reds completed the g of the Uruguay striker from Benfica on a six-year deal for an initial £64m in 2022.
And before the news of Florian Wirtz broke today, Nunez was on course to become Liverpool's record g, with the fee potentially rising to £85m with add-ons.
In his last season at Benfica, he scored 26 goals in 28 league appearances and Liverpool fans have yet to see that level of consistency.
Across three seasons at Anfield, Nunez has scored just 25 league goals. After a nine-goal debut campaign, he bagged 11 goals and 10 assists in his second season but his output dropped considerably under Arne Slot with only five top-flight goals in 2024-25.
"His composure in front of goal has never been good," BBC Sport columnist Fara Williams wrote in February.
"When you are at a big club, it is what you are measured on. Is he good enough to be in a Liverpool team that is competing on all fronts? Probably not.
"Nunez does not have that composure. His mind is going one hundred miles an hour and he cannot slow down his thought process. If I am being honest, I cannot see him even being there past the summer."
Get Involvedpublished at 12:37 British Summer Time 13 June
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Wirtz ing as Trent leaves reminds me of Moneyball and the idea of replacing a player ‘in the aggregate’. We were never going to find a like-for-like replacement for Trent but it’s possible to replace his skills between 2-3 players. The creativity that Wirtz brings helps achieve that.
Wirtz plays as a false nine...published at 12:30 British Summer Time 13 June
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Luke Reddy BBC Sport Senior Journalist
Many fans think Florian Wirtz will operate from a false nine position - dropping to receive es, creating room for runs into central spaces for the likes of Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz.
It would be a style Kopites have seen before, when Roberto Firmino built his legacy by retreating from forward positions into areas where he could link play, thus allowing the relentless Salah and Sadio Mane to prosper from wider berths.
It is hard to envisage Arne Slot tinkering too much with his midfield three, though Wirtz could feature in that area too.
Perhaps what points to his likely use in the forward line most is that the output of Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez points to the central-attacking area being the spot where Liverpool lack a man in form.
Get Involvedpublished at 12:25 British Summer Time 13 June
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Wirtz is a fantastic g. It's a lot of money to pay for someone who has had an ACL injury. However, he is still only 22. We have missed a real playmaker and Wirtz is an what we have had in that position. The last real playmaker was Coutinho and we turned him in to an exceptional talent.
Exciting times ahead!
Liverpool's record transfer deal for Florian Wirtz could pave way for players heading in the opposite direction at Anfield with the German set to Jeremie Frimpong, signed for £29.5m, as the Reds' second summer g.
With Arne Slot's side also in talks with Bournemouth to bring in left-back Milos Kerkez for between £45m and £50m, more exits could be very likely.
Attackers Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez have both been linked with moves away in recent weeks.
Diaz ed the Reds in 2022 but enjoyed his best goalscoring form under Slot with 17 in all competitions, including 13 in the Premier League.
Speculation over his future has only increased after Diaz and his girlfriend both wrote lengthy posts on social media to Liverpool fans that could be interpreted as farewell messages but an approach from Barcelona to speak to the forward was rejected by Liverpool earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Nunez has struggled to start regularly under Slot.
He has had three full seasons at Liverpool since completing a move worth up to £85m from Benfica but has struggled to score consistently.
Another player whose future is unclear is Harvey Elliott, while goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has already left for Brentford.
Get Involvedpublished at 12:17 British Summer Time 13 June
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Liverpool would never have spent comparable money on Cherki as he doesn't have a high work rate without the ball. Wirtz's price is down to his work off the ball as much as on the ball. A unique talent.
Get Involvedpublished at 12:11 British Summer Time 13 June
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Wirtz, Frimpong, Cherki, Reijnders. Say what you will about cost. But these clubs are building their squads early, efficiently, and without fuss. Meanwhile, other teams are dragging their feet over Bryan Mbeumo. That's the difference between well-run clubs and a total mess.
Liverpool's attacking players and their goal threatpublished at 12:08 British Summer Time 13 June
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Here's a look at the key forwards currently vying for places in Liverpool's attack, including their age, most regular position, when they are contracted to and the number of goals, assists and appearances they had last season in all competitions:
Luis Diaz, 28, left winger/centre-forward, contracted to 2027, 17 goals and eight assists in 50 appearances
Cody Gakpo, 26, left winger/centre-forward, contracted to 2028, 18 goals and seven assists in 49 appearances
Mohamed Salah, 32, right winger, contracted to 2027, 34 goals and 23 assists in 52 appearances
Federico Chiesa, 27, right winger, contracted to 2028, two goals and two assists in 14 appearances
Darwin Nunez, 25, centre-forward, contracted to 2028, seven goals and seven assists in 47 appearances
Diogo Jota, 28, centre-forward, contracted to 2027, nine goals and four assists in 37 appearances
Liverpool's decision to spend £100m - and potentially £116m - on Florian Wirtz after being crowned champions is following of the methods that served them well in the glory days of old.
The great Anfield figures of the past always insisted the way to sustain success was to add quality from a position of strength rather than chase expensive arrivals to cure weaknesses.
And Liverpool's position could not be much stronger after winning their 20th title.
It is also a vindication of the policy of keeping their powder dry financially last summer, when many ers wanted Liverpool to go into the markets, especially after a deal for Real Socidad's Martin Zubimendi collapsed.
Liverpool won the Premier League in Arne Slot's first season and now have the resources and pull to sign one of Europe's most sought after young stars.
Get Involvedpublished at 12:01 British Summer Time 13 June
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It's an exciting move for us LFC fans, but I share the sentiments of Josh from Liverpool @11:20, who has reservations about the cost of the whole deal. I slightly disagree about whether you can get a player of similar quality for a reasonable price as, much to my annoyance, Man City have just done exactly that. I wonder who will end up having done the better bit of business? To think that Cherki had been tipped to Liverpool for so long.....
Get Involvedpublished at 11:52 British Summer Time 13 June
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Wirtz definitely won't be used as a false nine. He'll come in to play either in the 10 or on the left of Slot's 4-2-3-1 system. Michael Edwards will be looking at a striker after Wirtz and Kerkez are wrapped up. Number 21 wrapped up before the season starts!
'Liverpool players will be buzzing to see Wirtz 'published at 11:49 British Summer Time 13 June
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Fara Williams Former Arsenal midfielder for BBC Sport
Image source, Getty Images
Losing Trent Alexander-Arnold and what he brings creatively to the side - with his es, the way he plays and his goals - is still a concern, but in Florian Wirtz they are bringing in a quality player.
There will be big pressure as a player when you come in with such a big price tag and an expectation to settle in straight away, but the players around him will be buzzing to see him come in and their experience will help him.
We said when Jurgen Klopp left that he left a very good team. They were well established as a collective and now it is about how you stick those pieces in together.
It might look a little bit different next season, but the Liverpool side appear stronger than ever and it is frightening for teams around them.
Fans should be excited by this shift at the club and in the ambition they are showing again.