Bayern Munich could use Harry Kane or Alphonso Davies in Florian Wirtz deal | OneFootball

There can be no hiding the fact that Florian Wirtz has struggled since joining Liverpool last summer. The German international arrived at Anfield to much fanfare following a £116m deal with Bayer Leverkusen just over a year ago, but since then, he has failed to repay much of the eye-watering transfer fee the Reds forked out to secure his services.

In his debut campaign on Merseyside, the attacking midfielder managed just five goals and four assists in the Premier League, with his first goal involvement in the league taking 13 games to arrive. He has managed just one assist so far this term and looks like a shadow of the player that was tearing up the Bundesliga as a teenager.

His woes have been exacerbated this season as Liverpool look devoid of any creativity at all.

The Reds have drawn three of their opening four Premier League games, with the recent goalless draw against Fulham at Anfield causing Andoni Iraola’s men to lose further ground in the title race. Truth be told, the bookies are already writing off their hopes of a second title in three seasons.

The latest odds from the popular Lucky Rebel Sportsbook currently position the Merseysiders as a distant 28/1 outsider, well behind 4/6 defending champions Arsenal and 9/4 second-favorites Manchester City.

Bayern’s ongoing Wirtz admiration

Last summer, Wirtz had a decision to make regarding which club he should join next. It was either Liverpool or a move to German giants Bayern Munich, a club that has continuously snapped up the best German talents from its domestic rivals over the years.

Somewhat surprisingly, the 2024 Bundesliga player of the season opted to head to Merseyside, but things haven’t yet worked out for either him or the club.

In recent days, popular German reporter Christian Falk has revealed that while Bayern aren’t currently looking into the possibility of a deal for Wirtz, they remain admirers.

However, he went on to say, “Of course, if Florian Wirtz were, at some point in the future, interested in making a return to the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich would be the first team he’d talk to.”

Much of that depends on whether Liverpool would be willing to cut their losses on the 23-year-old already.

The club forked out a monstrous transfer fee to secure his services just over a year ago, and with the attacking playmaker still being of a young age, there is every chance that he will come good in the future. The Reds, though, are looking for immediate results, and should they not come, questions will be asked about their star midfielder’s future.

Bayern would almost certainly not stump up the sizable transfer fee Liverpool could command for Wirtz. As such, the reigning German champions may well offer a player-plus-cash deal to sweeten the pot for the Reds. If they were to do that, which names could be involved in any potential moves? Here are the two that seem the most likely.

Harry Kane

This one sounds unlikely at first glance. Harry Kane amassed a whopping 73 goals for club and country last season, the second most of anybody this side of the millennium behind Lionel Messi’s 82-goal effort in 2011/12.

His efforts were crucial in Bayern romping to a domestic treble last season, with the Bavarians winning the Bundesliga, the German Super Cup, and the DFB Pokal; Kane scoring a stunning hat-trick in the latter of the three.

But dig deeper, and there are plenty of reasons why Kane could be offered to Anfield in a bid to tempt the Reds into accepting an offer for Wirtz. First of all, the former Spurs man turned 33 in July, and he will be entering the twilight of his career shortly.

Not only that, but he is out of contract in Bavaria at the end of the season and should a new deal to remain at the Allianz Arena not be agreed upon, the England captain could leave for absolutely nothing.

As such, if Bayern were to make an offer for Wirtz when the transfer window reopens in January, Kane could likely be an enticing option to offer as a makeweight. Any wages freed up by his departure could immediately be spent on Wirtz, while his being included in a deal could see the actual cash offer to the Reds be reduced by anywhere up to £40m.

Not only that, but Liverpool would be securing arguably the best striker on the planet in current form, while any age-induced decline may not arrive for a couple of years.

Alphonso Davies

Liverpool also paid a sizable fee for left-back Milos Kerkez last summer, with the Hungarian brought in to replace the experienced Andy Robertson.

However, much like Wirtz, things haven’t truly gone according to plan, and the Anfield faithful are beginning to lose faith in the former Bournemouth man.

Bayern Munich have a star left back of their own in the form of Alphonso Davies, and the Bavarians don’t rate the Canadian international as highly as they did six years ago.

Back in the summer of 2020, he was carving open Lionel Messi’s Barcelona in the Champions League quarterfinals, ripping apart the Blaugrana as Bayern romped to a stunning 8-2 win.

Since then, though, injuries have repeatedly taken their toll, and while Davies is still considered a first-team regular, he could still be offered up should a deal for Wirtz become feasible.

Davies hasn’t completed a full injury-free season in three years. Still just 25, his prime remains ahead of him, and provided any fitness concerns are in the rearview mirror, he could well be an enticing option as an upgrade on Kerkez at left back.