Liverpool have broken the bank for their marquee summer signing in Florian Wirtz.

In a statement transfer, the Reds made it clear since the window opened how badly they wanted the German attacker and weren’t afraid to splurge the cash to do so.

It could’ve perhaps been Trent Alexander-Arnold’s exit or the fact the club didn’t want a repeat of the situation where three of it’s biggest players heading into the summer were without contract renewals.

Either way, the signing feels like an assertion.

10 biggest transfers ever as Florian Wirtz jumps into top 10 with Liverpool move	Where Arne Slot plans to use Florian Wirtz after £116m transfer agreed	Arne Slot delivers on his Liverpool promise with Florian Wirtz statement signing

Liverpool waltzed to the title but they’re not resting on the laurels and didn’t want to get dragged into a transfer saga.

They wanted Wirtz and put their money where their mouth is.

Though there has been much chatter about the club-record fee of £116 million, make no mistake about it, Wirtz is adding depth, guile and a unique creative flair to an already irresistible attack:

What Wirtz brings

What Liverpool have at the moment is an attack that pins defences back as four players normally occupy the opposition’s back line.

Sometimes the opposing defence has four players or five, but when the front three plus one midfielder push up, it’s hard for defences to move as they’re always occupied.

Wirtz adds another intriguing layer to this.

He can be the player that darts forward to join the attack and confuse opponents but his play style at Bayer Leverkusen offers a glimpse into why Liverpool signed him.

At Leverkusen, when it became harder for Xabi Alonso’s side to break teams down as Bundesliga teams opted to drop deeper into a low block to face them, Wirtz was the versatile midfielder that found spaces crucially in the half-space.

There are precious little gaps for ball-dominant sides like Liverpool as they spend most of the game finding gaps in between teams that sit deep.

Which is where Wirtz comes in.

He likes to hog the left half-space in particular, but his heatmap shows that because he normally has a free role, roaming wherever the space is, the half-space on the other flank is often where he likes to receive too.

In the gaps between the opponent’s attack and midfield is where Wirtz likes to receive, in the half-spaces so he can drag a defender with him, find another team mate either wide or central and then use the space in behind that he’s created by pulling the man with him.

The above situation displays this perfectly.

Wirtz receives the ball from defence, it attracts two defenders and before you know it, he rounds both of them and is close to the edge of the penalty area.

Manipulating the half-space, bravery in dribbling and fearless in progression.

Where could he play?

It’s a nice headache for Arne Slot to have when it comes to figuring out where to play the former Bayer Leverkusen midfielder.

Liverpool’s engine room is well ran, Dominik Szoboszlai, Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch win a lot of duels and their tenacity to fight and put tackles in is underrated.

Something Wirtz can do too.

But in upsetting the tried and tested formula, Slot will have to risk adding Wirtz in and hoping he hits the ground running.

It could be that Mohamed Salah is deployed up front, Wirtz in behind, Szoboszlai on the right and Luis Diaz on the left with Mac Allister and Gravenberch retaining their places.

This way everyone on the pitch still gets to do what they need to and can interchange, as on paper Liverpool predominantly played a 4-2-3-1 but they used dropping forwards with other players making runs off them as their key to success.

It could also be that Wirtz is used in the midfield pivot in a deeper role against low blocks allowing Liverpool to play four attackers in the 3-1 as his ball retention, IQ and ability to play neat line-breaking passes in behind is excellent.

Though the fee was large, Liverpool are one of the best teams in the world buying one of the best players in the world.

The Reds don’t want to stop at one title won under Slot, they want to build a dynasty.

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