The £116million deal to sign Florian Wirtz was the first sign of the new Liverpool approach to the transfer market but a revelation has made the signing even more impressive.
Not only did sporting director Richard Hughes sign the best no.10 in the world in Wirtz, but he also beat competition from Bayern Munich and Manchester City to do so.
His 16 goals and 15 assists last season motivated Liverpool to pay the highest transfer fee in the club’s history (before Isak). While it was previously believed to be a Premier League record fee, it’s very unlikely that the add-ons in the agreement with Bayer Leverkusen will be triggered.
Liverpool’s agreement with Leverkusen for Wirtz is a masterstroke from Richard Hughes
According to a report from The Times’ Paul Joyce, via Anfield Sector on X, the £16million add-ons in Florian Wirtz’ contract will only be triggered if Liverpool win the Premier League and Champions League a combined four times in the German’s stay at Anfield.
Liverpool clearly felt that Wirtz is worth £100m flat and if he brings the success that they also think he should be able to bring in his six year contract, Leverkusen will justly receive a further £16m.
Supporters will likely unanimously agree that Wirtz winning the Premier League or Champions League a total of four times would take his value to the club to well over £116m.
Liverpool are building a team for the ages
Following Alexander Isak’s marquee move to Liverpool, Arne Slot is very close to having a perfect team. A few tweaks to the squad depth here and there and the Dutch coach will be equipped to challenge for every major honour.
Missing out on Marc Guehi was unfortunate but the English defender could still move to the club in future windows. With Wirtz, Isak, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, the Reds have an almost ridiculously high level of talent and tactical fluidity.
While the spend was astronomical, Liverpool are now in a position where they will only need to make minor changes in the coming years when stars leave or no longer meet the requirements.
Exciting times at Anfield and a lot of the credit must go to the likes of Hughes, Michael Edwards and FSG at large for a truly historic transfer window.
