Florian Wirtz has been pictured training for the first time since Liverpool shattered the British transfer record to sign him. Wirtz, 22, moved to Anfield last month after Liverpool reached a £116million agreement with Bayer Leverkusen, beating both Manchester City and Bayern Munich to his signature.
The Reds have agreed to pay an initial £100m plus £16m in potential add-ons. Wirtz put pen to paper on a five-year contract and has a huge amount of pressure on his shoulders thanks to his price tag.
Fans had hoped to see the playmaker during Sunday's pre-season friendly against Preston North End. But unlike Liverpool's other new signings - Giorgi Mamardashvili, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Freddie Woodman - Wirtz didn't feature in the 3-1 victory in order to manage his fitness after he played for Germany in the Nations League last month.
When he does eventually make his bow in a red shirt, it'll be interesting to see where he fits in. Liverpool romped to the Premier League title during Arne Slot's first season as manager and improving their starting lineup is a tall order.
Jurgen Klopp believes that Wirtz is good enough to break into Slot's first XI but just where he'll do that is a mystery to him. Asked whether the former Leverkusen star will be able to establish himself on Merseyside, Klopp replied: "Yes, although of course I don't know exactly which position Arne has in mind for Florian.
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"He's an outstanding player who can give any club something great. Whether he'll make the reigning English champions even better remains to be seen."
Wirtz was seen smiling at Liverpool's AXA Training Centre in Kirkby on Tuesday, the first time that he's been spotted with his new team-mates. The 22-year-old already knows Frimpong, who he played alongside at Leverkusen.
Liverpool will jet off for their pre-season tour of Asia next week, with Wirtz expected to be on the plane ahead of clashes with AC Milan and Yokohama F. Marinos. That's before Slot's squad face Athletic Bilbao in two fixtures on the same night back at Anfield next month.
Will Florian Wirtz live up to his price tag at Liverpool? Give us your prediction in the comments section.
Wirtz's competitive debut is likely to come against Crystal Palace in the Community Shield on Saturday, August 10. The Germany international will have the spotlight on him after Klopp labelled his fee 'insane'.
"There's no question about it, that's an insane sum," the former Reds boss admitted. "We all agree that we're talking about a great player here. I know I once said that I'm out if we pay 100m euros for a player.
"But the world keeps changing. That is how the market is. My part of football will always remain the game itself, but if you want to play at the top level, you can't train all your players yourself. Sometimes you need to get hold [of players from] somewhere else."
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