New Liverpool signing made the switch from Bayer Leverkusen to Anfield for a hefty £116m fee
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has warned the club’s new signing Florian Wirtz to expect a lot of scrutiny due to his price tag.
The 22-year-old midfielder joined Liverpool this summer for a British record fee of £116 million. Klopp has expressed his admiration for Wirtz, but is also concerned that the transfer fee will cause critics to shadow every touch of the ball he takes at Anfield.
“There’s no question about it, it’s an insane sum,” Klopp said in an interview with Welt. “And one that a player at Liverpool isn’t aware of if things don’t go well for two or three games.”
Despite the warning, Klopp was keen to underline just how highly he rates the player. “He’s an outstanding player who can give any club something great,” he said. “Whether he’ll make the reigning English champions even better remains to be seen.”
Wirtz arrives on Merseyside off the back of a stellar spell at Bayer Leverkusen, where he was central to Xabi Alonso’s historic team. Quick, clever and capable of dictating tempo, the Germany international is widely viewed as one of the most promising attacking midfielders currently in European football.
Klopp explained that the high price tag is justifiable because it is the market forces that decide transfer fees.
“I know I once said that I’m out if we pay €100m for a player,” said Klopp, who is now serving as Red Bull’s head of global football operations following his departure from Liverpool last summer. “But the world is changing. That’s just the way the market is.”
