If Slot really wants him, then imo Fenway would sanction a high bid as it fits the age profile.
But with other money loaded clubs interested, it’ll probably end up like the Caceido situation.
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Think Barca are well filled in his zone (plus the general situation they’re in from window to window, uncertainities), but it seems like Bayern and City are favourites.
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I agree this is the same situation as the Caicedo,Lavia,Tchouameni,Bellingham
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Are you saying you would discard poor Dom like a used trollop?
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Perhaps but Jones has been doing this job quite well, imo. If anything Grav is the one who needs some additional rotation
So he will go where he had his heart set then…Bayern.
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With a deal like this, it’s always the question: who in the squad gets sacrified to make place for him? Curtis? Szobo? Elliot? Diaz? We are champions of England and were a whisker away of going further in the CL (as one of the two best teams in the competition imo), so it doesn’t make any sense to sacrifice one of our players currently. They are all nearing their prime, or already in it, so the club will probably look at other positions in need of being reinforced more urgently.
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Also if you are buying somebody for upwards of £100m then that player is becoming a cornerstone of your team, not simply another option to be rotated in and out.
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Surely the same could be argued of however much we paid for Szoboszlai?
We paid ~60m GBP for Soboszlai. Its still a sizable transfer fee but that’s his release clause.
For context , United paid much more for Mount. What we paid for Soboszlai is like what Chelsea paid for the barely sighted Lavia.
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I thought I read somewhere that Edwards or Ward had commented that they were surprised we were willing to pay that much for Soboszlai.
I do think there’s an element of us overpaying for Dom. But his two seasons in Liverpool, he’s proven himself to be a mostly reliable , available player even if limited. An immediate win considering who he replaced. Naby
A few of the mentioned players aren’t regular starters (Jones and Elliott, while Diaz has been used in two positions this season, one position where we are aiming to sign a player).
Slot inherited a quality side and coached it in a quality way this season, but it doesn’t mean we will look seek for improvements; either internally, group work or from the transfer market.
In some positions we will be forced to make new changes (RB), in others we will want to improve (ST, possibly LB).
IF Wirtz came, then yeah it would be an interesting discussion how we would set it up.
Obviously at this stage of his career, he seems very much an attacking midfielder between the lines, best either centrally or a little bit in that left half space.
Klopp and Slot share a lot of principles, especially off the ball. Klopp said a long time ago that the single #10 position is defensively the most demanding one. Slot might not see it exactly, but surely both the striker and #10 need to be absolutely active defensively.
Szoboszlai’s pressing has been top quality, but from our second or third most advanced player in this system, we need more from him (or someone else in that position) on the ball. More end product also.
Wirtz could possibly threaten his position or maybe it would push Szobo into a deeper role.
This season we haven’t always played the strict 4-2-3-1 shape. Later in the second part of the season and against top opponents, our average positions also looked like a 4-3-3 at times.
Sometimes there is an opportunity in the market and us liking a player very much (Wirtz is at a level of quality and potential that every top out there is at least interested in him), perhaps not a priority target, but it’s not surprising whether we want to have a serious think about it and perhaps bring him to the table, see what both sides want/can do, how we feel about doing something.
I don’t expect it to happen, but I’m far from surprised if we are getting involved in this, I support it.
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I can see Wirtz slotting into the false 9 role. We might have to have more a 4.2.2.2 shape but we’ve played that formation at times and have been pretty effective.
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But I do remember I wanted Havertz in too (before he joined Chelsea) so am a bit sceptical about Leverkusen players.
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Wirtz is talented and technically gifted enough to cause trouble in almost any offensive role, probably used best when he can drop deeper occasionally and find spaces though.
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In some aspects, he reminds me of Hazard, but more centrally. He does have the potential to drop a tad deeper one day and become a proper midfielder. But for now I think Wirtz is at his absolute best between midfield and attack. Incredibly hard to defend him if he’s given that freedom to find space, receive, be decisive on the ball.
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If this was aimed at my comment - of course. It was in response to playing him as a false 9, which I’m not sure is his best position.
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No, was just saying in general.
You could try a system with two false #9’s (we tried it against Brighton and City with Jones and Szobo in those roles), but Wirtz is right now exactly what he’s called, an attacking midfielder.
His alternative or secondary position other than #10 (single or double) is probably closer to the inside left channel of an attack (similar to how we used Coutinho here under Klopp), rather than CM or false #9.
Yes. Seen him play since his youth days in Cologne, everyone was talking about him even back then, Cologne fans were furious when he went to next door Leverkusen.
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