Last Friday, Liverpool broke the British record transfer fee by signing one of the most exciting players of this generation, the German attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, for £100m with potential add-ons totalling £16m, which would bring the total to £116m.
The current Premier League champions have been making moves this transfer window, with Wirtz joining the club alongside his former Leverkusen teammate Jeremie Frimpong.
The club is continuously trying to strengthen its position of power in the window, with links to Milos Kerkez and Marc Guéhi.
The addition of Wirtz to the squad has further boosted Arne Slot‘s attacking options for the upcoming season.
This scout report and player analysis will highlight Florian Wirtz style of play.
This analysis will also examine how Wirtz will fit into Arne Slot tactics and how the Reds may need to adapt to him.
Who Is Florian Wirtz?
Florian Wirtz is a 22-year-old attacking midfielder who has become widely regarded as one of the world’s best attacking midfielders.
Wirtz has become one of the world’s best in the attacking midfielder position.
He predominantly plays as a versatile number 10; however, he can also play as a wide left-sided playmaker drifting inside.
Wirtz has become a full international player for Germany and is one of their key players.
He provides goals and assists due to his ability to cut defensive lines with his passing and break down stubborn defences with his creativity and dribbling.
His performances over the last few years have attracted attention from multiple big clubs, including Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
Still, his decision to join Liverpool was based on the progress he sees the club making under Arne Slot and the promise of becoming a key playmaker for the team in the central role he likes to play.
Let’s analyse the data from his 2024/2025 season and highlight what strengths he can bring to his new club, as well as where Liverpool may need to adapt to gain the best possible version of Florian Wirtz.
Florian Wirtz Radar Map 2024/2025
Examining the radar map of his last season at Bayer Leverkusen, Florian Wirtz excels in several key metrics.
The radar map shows three areas in which Wirtz is strongest: received passes, passes, and dangerous passes.
He ranked in the 98th percentile and 97th percentile per 90 contributions, respectively.
These numbers are not a surprise to most people, as he is a focal creative player on every team he plays for.
These high values indicate that Wirtz is most dangerous when he has the ball at his feet.
With Liverpool averaging 57.9% possession in the league, Wirtz’s addition will give him more opportunities to receive the ball and create goalscoring opportunities.
He also ranks high in all his attacking numbers, with his numbers being in the 84th percentile or higher.
His best attacking figures were his goal contribution (90th percentile) and expected goal contribution (94th percentile).
Last season, Florian Wirtz registered 16 goals and 13 assists in all club competitions.
Compared to all the current midfield options at Liverpool (23 goals and 19 assists), his arrival will likely increase these numbers and provide the team with a greater goal threat from midfield.
His defensive metrics are lower than those of his peers, suggesting he is more attack-minded, but this could be improved under Arne Slot’s leadership and coaching.
Florian Wirtz Strengths
As we highlighted from his radar map above, Florian Wirtz’s best attributes, based on the data gathered, are his passing, both receiving and distributing, along with the majority of his attacking metrics, especially his goal contributions.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) June 24, 2025
In the first example against Borussia Dortmund, Wirtz receives the ball off a teammate in his own half in huge space.
Before he takes possession of the ball, he has already scanned the pitch to determine his next action.
Wirtz takes the ball on the back foot, ensuring his body position is facing forward up the pitch.
He moves the ball out of his feet and demonstrates his long-range passing by throwing it straight into the path of a teammate.
In the second clip against SC Freiburg, Wirtz receives the ball on the left side, cuts inside two defenders, and switches the play across the pitch to his right full-back.
Again, this demonstrates his vision for long-range passing and his ability to be pinpoint accurate with his passing.
He also doesn’t just stand there and admire his pass; he sprints to the edge of the box to ensure he is in a position to pick up the second ball to create a chance on goal.
These examples show Wirtz’s vision for a long pass and being able to switch the play quickly to launch a counterattack or give a new angle to the current attack.
This is a strength that will help Liverpool, as they are known for switching the play and launching counterattacks.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) June 25, 2025
Another strength Florian Wirtz will bring to Liverpool is his ability to play through passes and pass between the lines to break down defences.
The above demonstrates four clips of this strength.
In the first clip against RB Leipzig, he takes the ball on the back foot in a pocket of space and drives forward into the vacant space.
Constantly scanning for runners, he spots Frimpong’s run and executes the through pass into his path.
The weight of the pass is perfect for Frimpong to run straight on to.
Unfortunately, the resulting shot missed.
The second clip versus Augsburg shows Wirtz occupying the left flank, waiting for the ball to come his way.
When he receives the ball, it takes two touches to lose the defender by cutting inside.
His vision enables him to see the run in behind from the striker.
However, this time, Wirtz overhits the pass, but still demonstrates his footballing vision in recognising the pass.
In the third clip against St. Pauli, he creates his own space by running off the opposition player to take possession of the ball.
This allows him to drive forward with the ball.
He notices a teammate running between two defenders and plays the ball directly into the player’s path without hesitation.
Unfortunately, the players’ control wasn’t good, but Wirtz’s directness indicates that he trusts his ability to cut the lines with his passing.
The final clip again shows Wirtz picking the ball up in the pocket and executing a perfectly weighted pass for Patrik Schick.
The skills shown in all of these clips will allow Wirtz to fit in perfectly with the Liverpool team.
He will be able to receive the ball in the pocket, and various runners will go in behind.
His vision will enable him to execute the passes.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) June 25, 2025
The following clips show some of Wirtz’s assists over the season.
Each clip highlights his vision, the weight of his passing, and his understanding of his teammates’ movement.
Each assist demonstrates the various techniques Wirtz can use to pass the ball, including outside the foot (clip one), a delicate pass in behind (clip two), a deep cross (clip three), and a direct pass through the lines (clip four).
His ability to create goals will be a huge addition to the Liverpool team.
This gives them another goal threat and takes the pressure off some players who are always relied upon to create opportunities.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) June 25, 2025
The four clips above show Wirtz’s eye for goal, which, along with his other strengths, makes him a crucial player in the up-and-coming season for Slot’s Liverpool.
These clips highlight his close ball control when dribbling through players and also his composure when in front of goal.
Wirtz’s goalscoring ability is a welcome bonus to Liverpool, as it boosts the number of players who can contribute to the goal output and provides another goal threat coming from midfield, rather than relying solely on the front three.
Combining all these strengths highlighted above gives Liverpool something to look forward to when the season begins.
With Arne Slot current formation of 4-2-3-1, Wirtz will likely slot right into the team.
With his quality, he should hit the ground running and have an instant impact on the team’s performance.
Florian Wirtz Vs Dominik Szoboszlai Comparison
With Florian Wirtz’s addition to the Liverpool midfield ranks, a question has been raised about who will be in Slot’s primary midfield positions?
How will Slot be able to fit all of his creative playmakers into the team without compromising the team balance?
Dominik Szoboszlai is the player who has been playing as the attacking midfielder in Slot’s first Premier League season at Liverpool, and this is who will be Wirtz’s main competition for a place in the starting XI.
Let’s examine and analyse some of the statistical metrics gathered from last season to see how each player compares.
Firstly, looking at the comparison radar, we can see that each player is considerably better in some metrics, which is to be expected.
From the initial comparison radar, Florian Wirtz has better attacking and possession statistics, whereas Szoboszlai excels in defensive metrics.
Wirtz ranked above the 65th percentile in every attacking metric, while Szoboszlai’s highest rank overall was the 65th percentile.
This illustrates that Wirtz will provide a better attacking output for the team.
However, the radar highlights Wirtz’s lack of defensive metrics compared to Szoboszlai.
This suggests that Szoboszlai provides better defensive coverage than Wirtz.
One way Slot could utilise both players in the team is by playing Wirtz in a further attacking position, with Szoboszlai dropping into a deeper role where he can maintain defensive coverage while also providing attacking options to Wirtz and the other forwards.
This could be how Liverpool adapts its midfield to suit Wirtz’s playing style while maintaining the balance it showed in the 2024/2025 Premier League season.
Conclusion
Florian Wirtz is one of the world’s best attacking midfielders in current football.
He has been given the opportunity to showcase his ability for one of the world’s biggest teams in what is considered the best and hardest league in the world.
Even though Wirtz has never played club football outside of Germany, his natural flair and ability should enable him to hit the levels he was performing at in Leverkusen.
However, no matter which player arrives in the league, there is always a question as to how long it will take for them to adapt and make an impact.
Wirtz will need to make some adjustments when joining Liverpool, but the strengths highlighted in this article suggest that he will be able to integrate into Slot’s system without any issues.
With Liverpool’s system, Slot won’t have to make many changes to accommodate Wirtz.
They focus on getting their creative players on the ball as much as possible, and since his arrival, Wirtz has joined their creative player ranks.
This move could lead to Florian Wirtz gaining even more worldwide recognition for his talent.
The progression he could make at Liverpool could open him up to the highest individual awards and the option of winning the biggest team awards in the sport.
