Overview
- Andoni Iraola has replaced Arne Slot as Liverpool manager and must choose whether to give Florian Wirtz a fixed role rather than rotating him across the front line.
- Former Liverpool midfielder Vladimir Smicer has publicly argued Liverpool should build the team around Wirtz and play him behind the striker to unlock his best form.
- Wirtz cost Liverpool an initial reported fee of around £100m to £116m with further bonuses and produced a modest club season of roughly seven goals and eight assists in 2025–26.
- Wirtz impressed for Germany in their World Cup opener, creating the opening goal and registering heavy involvement in the final third, which commentators say offers a tactical blueprint for Liverpool.
- If Iraola gives Wirtz positional freedom and surrounding players who provide width and movement, Liverpool hope the playmaker can justify the fee and become a long‑term transformational signing.