Liverpool won’t have to wait long for what could be the biggest summer acquisition to show up at Anfield. According to the ECHO, the Reds have reached an agreement with Bayer Leverkusen for attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz for £100 million, with the possibility of an increase to £116 million.
Liverpool has finally landed their man after protracted talks with the Bundesliga team, and when the transfer window reopens next week, he is anticipated to be formally introduced as a Red. The current record for the highest fee paid for a player at Anfield, held by Darwin Nunez, who arrived for £85 million, of which £21 million was made up of add-ons, will be broken by his arrival.
The record for the largest guaranteed sum of £75 million is currently held by Virgil van Dijk, but Wirtz will blow both records out of the water. The 22-year-old will now be a part of the exciting attack that Anfield is developing, and he will be sharing a dressing room with Jeremie Frimpong, his former teammate from Leverkusen.
This summer, eager fans will probably demand to see Wirtz’s name and number on the back of their shirts, but it’s unclear exactly which he will get. Wirtz has frequently worn the numbers 7, 10, 17, and 27 both domestically and abroad during his time in Germany.
Since Alexis Mac Allister and Curtis Jones currently hold the numbers 10 and 17, respectively, they are considered extremely unlikely. If its current occupant, Luis Diaz, departs for Barcelona this summer, the No. 7 might become available, but that is by no means a given.
Fortunately, Darwin Nunez last wore number 27 in 2023, so it is currently unoccupied. Prior to being promoted to No. 10, Wirtz wore this number at Bayer Leverkusen, so it
Other options for Wirtz include the No. 12, which was last worn by Joe Gomez in 2022 and is currently the lowest number the German midfielder would likely want. He might also choose to wear the number 22, which has been available since Calvin Ramsay wore it in 2023, to represent the age at which he joined Liverpool.
Wirtz has the following other open options: 6, 13, 15, 16, 23, 25, 28, and 37. After that, most of them are free, with the exception of 56 (Vitezslav Jaros), 78 (Jarell Quansah), 80 (Tyler Morton), 84 (Conor Bradley), and 95 (Harvey Davies).