Xabi Alonso impressed with Liverpool’s prospects of replacing Mohamed Salah.

Xabi Alonso impressed with Liverpool’s prospects of replacing Mohamed Salah

Liverpool are planning to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen.
Florian Wirz continues to impress in the Bundesliga under Manchester United legend Xabi Alonso.

Liverpool legend Xabi Alonso is a World Cup winner, two-time European champion and two-time Champions League winner.

The Spaniard has also won four league titles and four domestic cups in England, Spain and Germany and is one of the best players of his generation. So he played with some of the best players the game has ever seen.

But the look on his face said it all as Bayer Leverkusen beat SC Freiburg 2-1 on Sunday to claim victory over Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga.

Despite everything he has been through in his football career as a player and manager, Florian Wirz’s first goal will go down as one of the best individual goals he has ever seen.

After receiving the ball on the right, just outside the area, the 20-year-old burst into the box, twisted two defenders and knocked one of them to the ground twice.

Despite facing the big Freiburg on his way to the touchline, he stepped back and fired a shot into the bottom left corner.

“This is half our team… And he scores.
Leverkusen posted on social media that it was “unreasonable”, along with a photo of seven Freiburg players standing next to Wirz, five of whom were directly in front of him heading towards goal. The goal isn’t even in the shot.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a special goal from him,” Alonso said after the final whistle.
“Dribbling, dribble, dribble and finally shoot.

“I spoke to Flo yesterday about what he does and you can’t teach him that today.
“There are only a few players in the Bundesliga who can do that.”

The stunning goal was Wirtz’s fifth of the season, having made 13 appearances in all competitions.

He later set up Jonas Hoffman’s future winner with his eighth assist of the campaign, tearing down the left wing to block a running man in midfield before punching in seconds later.
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That form is all the more impressive considering the Germany international is still only 20 years old and only returned in January from a 10-month layoff after picking up a cruciate ligament injury in March 2022.

He scored 18 goals and provided 22 assists in 69 games since the start of the 2020/21 season before suffering a serious injury.
He bounced back in the second half of last season with four goals and eight assists in 25 appearances and wasted no time getting back to his best form.

Unsurprisingly, Wirtz remains linked with many of Europe’s elite clubs, including Liverpool.

Fabrizio Romano expressed his interest in the German at Manchester United in March, while Jurgen Klopp has said he is a fan of his compatriot. But he said the Leverkusen teenager will stay until 2024. So could the 20-year-old be linked with Anfield in the future?

There was no denying that there was something Mohamed Salah-like about Wirtz’s goal and assist against Freiburg.

The way he crosses inside, beats a defender and curls his left foot into the bottom corner is something Reds fans have seen time and time again during the King of Egypt’s breakaway, a powerful solo run that saves half the pitch before carries on side Team members.

However, even though Wirtz scored his wonder goal with his left foot, he is not left-handed.
Therefore, she is not a right winger and has mainly played as an attacking midfielder for Leverkusen.

But Liverpool now have the likes of Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Diogo Lotta and even Darwin Nunes joining them on the left flank, as well as a number of talented young players coming through their academy, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t There.

A place for him. Wirtz is not at Anfield either.
He may be an attacking midfielder, but that doesn’t make him the only number 10 player.
Of course, he played in that position and right up front when Alonso opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation, but the Spaniard is the favourite.

This system is similar to Klopp’s Reds formation, with Trent Alexander-Arnold moving into midfield as a right-back in a 3-4-2-1 formation.
Last season, Wirtz was forced to play as a central or left attacking midfielder.
However, following Moussa Diaby’s £51.8m move to Aston Villa in the summer, the German will often rotate with fellow right-footer Jonas Hoffman.

According to Transfermarkt, the 20-year-old is on the right side of any situation.
With the last goal, he showed that he has a strong left foot.

With speculation surrounding Salah’s future interest in Saudi Arabia, it is time for Liverpool to look for a replacement.
Wertz is not right-wing, but in that sense, he may not be the perfect successor either. But can anyone really fill these massive boots?
He may never be able to replace the Egyptian as an equal, but if he continues to be admired at Anfield, he could be part of that conversation.

Despite being on the Reds’ radar, one thing is clear. If Wirtz continues to supply Leverkusen, a big money move is certainly possible.