Man City ace has claimed Liverpool are about to sign someone who ‘could be the best in the world’ | OneFootball

Liverpool could be about to make one Manchester City player a tad jealous in the next few days!

The Reds appear to have made a significant breakthrough in their pursuit of Florian Wirtz after Fabrizio Romano reported on Tuesday night that a ‘deal in principle’ has been ‘verbally agreed’ with Bayer Leverkusen for the 22-year-old.

The Italian transfer guru claimed that the final package could reach €150m (£127m) when add-ons are included, with Graeme Bailey predicting that the deal could be made official ‘by the weekend’.

Wirtz would arrive at Liverpool with the firm seal of approval from a Germany teammate who plays for one of the Reds’ biggest rivals.

What has Gundogan said about Wirtz?

Speaking on the TRS Podcast earlier this year, Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan was singing the praises of the Leverkusen star and Jamal Musiala, saying (via The Mirror): “They’re very close to world class. Maybe they are not yet there but they could be the best in the world in a short amount of time.

“Of course, they have the potential and the quality. I played with them for the last two years in the national team and both of them have everything; they prove it with their teams and the national team. They are both great guys and great characters, so they will be there at one point.”

(Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

Liverpool could be getting a genuine game-changer in Wirtz

Gundogan and Wirtz have played together 16 times for Germany, so the Man City stalwart is well-placed to comment on how high a ceiling the seemingly Liverpool-bound playmaker can reach.

There’s a very good reason why FSG are prepared to smash the Reds’ transfer record to sign the 22-year-old, whose underlying performance numbers in comparison to positional peers in Europe’s five main leagues last season illustrate the level at which he operates.

As per FBref, he ranks among the top 4% of that subset for successful take-ons per game (2.89), the top 7% with his match averages for progressive passes (6.63) and shot-creating actions (5.53), as well as the top 9% for assists (0.38) and the top 20% for shots (2.87) and non-penalty goals (0.38) per 90 minutes.

Wirtz can also back up those figures with a consistent output where it matters most – he scored 16 goals and set up another 15 in 45 games for Leverkusen in 2024/25, and his overall record for the club stands at 57 goals and 65 assists in 197 appearances.

When such numbers are supplemented by a glowing firsthand testimony from Gundogan – who boasts one of the most decorated CVs of any footballer in Europe – Liverpool fans can rest assured that we’re seemingly on the verge of signing a genuinely elite talent who could become a true game-changer at Anfield.