The surprising turn in the pursuit of Florian Wirtz raises many questions. One of them: How would the DFB star fit into FC Liverpool’s system? A tactical analysis.
Should the newly crowned English champion FC Liverpool actually win the race for Wirtz, Reds coach Arne Slot would have to tweak his tactical structure a bit. His plan was crucial for the turnaround with the Leverkusen star.
But what could this plan look like? Given a transfer in the three-digit million range, it would certainly be sacrilegious for the Dutch coach to stubbornly stick to the basic formation used this season.
Florian Wirtz (r.) could potentially play one position ahead of Alexis Mac Allister (l.) at FC Liverpool
In 37 of 38 Premier League games, Liverpool played in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation. Dominik Szoboszlai regularly occupied the number ten position or high eight, while Diogo Jota or Luis Díaz played in the center forward position. Wirtz could now also join them up front.
Wirtz would not displace Szoboszlai from the team
An important detail: The Darwin Núñez project has failed at Anfield Road, which is why the Uruguayan is to be sold. In any case, Slot has often played without a true number nine this successful season. Both Jota and Díaz are not classic strikers like Núñez.
With a possible signing of Wirtz, the deployment of the attack could go to the next stage of evolution. Because it is unlikely that Wirtz would simply replace Szoboszlai at the ten.
The Hungarian, who cost 70 million euros when he moved from Leipzig to Anfield Road in the summer of 2023, is far too important in the midfield structure and, above all, as a pressing machine.
Especially in initiating and disrupting the opponent’s build-up play, Szoboszlai is one of the best in the Premier League.
Wirtz as the tip of a diamond
With Wirtz in the starting formation, Slot could therefore switch to a 4-3-1-2, i.e. a formation with a midfield diamond. In this basic formation, Wirtz would form the tip of the diamond and more or less operate between two widely positioned strikers.
Since the goalscoring burden at the Reds already rests on the shoulders of natural half and wing strikers like Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, as well as Jota and Díaz, they should continue to be brought into finishing positions.
With Wirtz in a hybrid role between number nine and number ten, this could work just as well or perhaps even better than with Jota or Díaz at number nine. Especially since the former is quite prone to injury – he has missed around 40 games due to various problems since the start of the 2023/24 season.
Wirtz’s great strength is his decision-making in tight spaces and his ability to push into the zones in front of the opponent’s defensive line, thereby disrupting the other team’s defensive structure. He is not an absolute goal machine, but someone who is involved in the vast majority of his team’s shots.
The top eights behind Wirtz
In addition, Slot could continue to keep Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister, the second top eight in the team, on the pitch with a midfield line. In this scenario, Szoboszlai would play a little higher and stand alongside Wirtz, especially in pressing or counter-pressing moments.
Once this season, Slot already tried a formation without a center forward and instead with Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones an offensive duo between Salah and Díaz. That was in the 2-0 win against Manchester City away at the Etihad Stadium.
Slot could build on this in the course of the intended mega-transfer. Wirtz has already been able to try himself out here and there as a number nine-number ten hybrid at Bayer Leverkusen and should also feel comfortable in this role at Anfield Road.