Liverpool Could Sign Another Trent Alexander-Arnold Replacement This Summer – Opinion | OneFootball

Florian Wirtz – The Playmaker to Replace Trent

With Trent Alexander-Arnold’s long-anticipated departure from Liverpool all but confirmed, the club’s recruitment machine has shifted into high gear to fill the creative void. While many names have been floated as potential playmaking replacements — including the short-term glamour of Kevin De Bruyne — it’s Florian Wirtz who now stands atop the Reds’ wish list. Reports have emerged this week of meetings between Liverpool officials and the German star’s family on Merseyside, indicating that serious groundwork is being laid for what could be a marquee summer signing.

At a projected fee of £125 million, this would be a blockbuster acquisition. With Saudi interest in both Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez potentially generating a combined £150 million, Liverpool may be readying the runway for one of European football’s most complete attacking midfielders — not just as a replacement, but as a transformation that would allow Arne Slot to reshape his patterns of play in an era without his explosive fullback, Trent.

A New Shape Without Trent

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s hybrid full-back/playmaker role was at times unique, and his creative metrics often rivalled top attacking midfielders across Europe. Replacing that profile directly is near impossible, which is why Arne Slot seems poised to redesign rather than replicate.

Florian Wirtz doesn’t slot into right-back, of course, but he does offer similar levels of playmaking intelligence, line-breaking passes, and control of tempo. Crucially, he does so from a left-sided attacking position and can allow a new dimension to unfold. From there, he inverts naturally, operating between the lines and allowing others to overlap into space, precisely the sort of system Slot has previously deployed and could now reintroduce on Merseyside.

In this system, Milos Kerkez — a player long admired by Liverpool’s scouting department — would become an ideal foil. The explosive left-back, currently thriving in the Premier League at Bournemouth, could hold width while Wirtz drifts centrally, dovetailing with Dominik Szoboszlai in an unpredictable and devastating attacking axis.

Balance, Roles and the Right-Back Conundrum

For this shape to function, however, Liverpool must balance the pitch — and that starts with a more defensively astute right-back. With Wirtz inverting and Szoboszlai charging forward, the defensive responsibilities on the opposite flank become vital. In that regard, recent links to RB Leipzig’s Lutsharel Geertruida make sense, especially if paired with a specialist anchor in midfield such as Adam Wharton.

Such a change would also benefit Mohamed Salah, who remains elite in output but increasingly needs to be unburdened from deeper defensive duties. With a secure right-back behind him, Salah could concentrate solely on offensive production, exploiting half-spaces without tracking runners into his third. Conor Bradley would, of course, offer depth and a different Arsenal of talents, however, I do not see how the Reds’ Sporting Director, Richard Hughes, and his Sporting CEO, Michael Edwards, cannot recruit a starting-calibre right back in the coming weeks.

The result would be a far more conventional — yet still terrifying — balance: overlapping left-back, inverted left playmaker, central ten, holding midfielder, and a conservative right-back to anchor the shape. This evolution doesn’t diminish Liverpool’s threat; it diversifies it, which is why a player of Florian Wirtz’s elite-level skillset is being targeted.

Photo: IMAGO

Wirtz: Not Just a Statement, But a Structure

Florian Wirtz isn’t just a superstar in the making — he’s the kind of signing that shifts team architecture. At nearly 23 years of age, his Bundesliga output has already rivalled seasoned internationals, and his intelligence off the ball is matched only by his final-third execution. This isn’t a luxury buy; this is strategic reconstruction that could balance the creativity across the entire final third, especially with a new central striker incoming.

If Díaz and Núñez are moved on as expected, the reinvestment in Wirtz signals more than ambition. It signals structure. It reflects a club stepping into a new era not defined by singular brilliance at right-back, but by collective fluency, tactical coherence, and long-term vision. This is why Arne Slot was chosen, and now we will start to see true evolution alongside ambitious expectations of his executives.

Wirtz may not be the next Trent Alexander-Arnold, and he doesn’t need to be. The Germany international could be the player who ensures Liverpool never has to look for another one like him again and quickly forget what all the fuss was about.