Liverpool's Wirtz problem - does he need to be dropped?

At the end of the 2024-25 season, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot flew to the south of France to honour talks with Rayan Cherki. Cherki was on Liverpool 's shortlist in their hunt for an attacking midfielder but the main target was Florian Wirtz - who was also wanted by Bayern Munich and Manchester City . Once Wirtz said his preference was to move to Anfield and join the then-Premier League champions, the £116m deal became a formality.