Empire of the Kop
·3 June 2025
Sky reporter: Florian Wirtz wants one thing at Liverpool which could impact current Anfield idol

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Yahoo sportsEmpire of the Kop
·3 June 2025
According to one reliable reporter, there’s one thing Florian Wirtz wants at Liverpool which could require a compromise from a current player at Anfield.
The Bayer Leverkusen star has made no secret of his desire to join the Reds, who’ve had two offers already knocked back by the Bundesliga runners-up as they hold out for a fee of approximately £125m (Christian Falk).
It seems likely that the Merseysiders will try their luck once more with another bid for the 22-year-old, and if that gets the seal of approval from his current club, he’ll almost certainly be lining out for the Premier League champions next season.
Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg has outlined one request that Wirtz could make when it comes to agreeing the finer points of his proposed transfer to Liverpool, although it’s one that the Reds mightn’t be readily able to accommodate.
The journalist claimed (via X) that the Leverkusen star ‘would like to’ wear the number 10 shirt at Anfield, although that’s currently occupied by Alexis Mac Allister. The 22-year-old usually wears 17 for Germany, but Curtis Jones has that number for LFC at present.
However, it doesn’t seem as though that’d be a deal-breaker in this instance, as the Premier League champions are ‘very optimistic about reaching an agreement’ with the Bundesliga club for the playmaker.
Some players are more particular about shirt numbers than others, and it’s natural that Wirtz would like to have the same number at Liverpool that he’s worn with distinction at the BayArena.
Thankfully, Bundesliga expert Mark McCambridge has reassured Reds fans (via Liverpool Echo) that the 22-year-old is unlikely to ‘be a diva or throw toys out the pram’, which suggests that he certainly wouldn’t put noses out of joint over something such as the number on his back.
(Photo by Oliver Hardt/Getty Images)
If the proposed transfer is completed and Mac Allister keeps the no.10 jersey, what options are available or the Germany playmaker to take up?
Wirtz wore 27 for a few years in the Leverkusen first team, and that number has been vacant at Liverpool since Darwin Nunez switched to 9 a couple of summers ago.
Should the Reds get their man, we imagine that plenty of fans will be getting his name on next season’s kit, irrespective of what shirt number he eventually takes!