Here's where Liverpool will play Florian Wirtz in their attack

Liverpool don’t sign superstars, they make them.

At least, that was the case until the Reds' recent signing of Florian Wirtz for a British record fee. From Luis Suarez to Mohamed Salah, Liverpool’s most successful and high-profile players did not arrive as the superstars that they went on to become at Anfield.

Not since perhaps the arrival of Fernando Torres for a then club record fee of £20 million in 2007 have Liverpool signed a player of the ready-made calibre as Wirtz.

In the 22-year-old German, Liverpool have signed a true superstar. Perhaps nobody in Europe will sign a better player this summer, with Wirtz ranked at no.1 in FourFourTwo's list of the best attacking midfielders in the world right now.

A player coveted by Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Real Madrid opted for Anfield – and it marks a real change for the Reds on and off the pitch. It’s also a warning to their rivals that Liverpool are looking to build from a position of power, as Premier League champions.

So just where will Wirtz fit in at Anfield? Arne Slot spoke of the importance of versatility at the end of last season and he will get that with Wirtz, whose acquisition opens up a multitude of attacking options.

Here's where the new playmaker will fit in…

Florian Wirtz will likely be the new no.10 on Merseyside

The simple option, then, is Wirtz as the no.10 - the role perceived as his best and the one in which you’d likely want your £116 million record signing occupying and the team being built around.

However, the question here is what happens to Dominik Szoboszlai, whose role off the ball in particular last season was largely undervalued. The Hungarian’s pressing isn’t something Slot will want to lose from the side.

Mind, Wirtz’s work rate and pressing ability aren’t exactly lacking either, so it does open the option to either deploy Szoboszlai deeper or out wide, or indeed rotate the two more often.

It could be that Szoboszlai actually moves to the left - a role he's often played for the Hungarian national team and previously with RB Leipzig - and therefore offers more cover for the rampaging Milos Kerkez from left back.

Szoboszlai could also play in a deeper midfield role, but Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch won’t be displaced from the regular XI.

Some reporting has suggested that part of Wirtz’s decision to join Liverpool is because of the central, no.10 role that Slot presented to him during talks.

Wirtz is more than capable from the left, too

Wirtz’s best position may be seen as a no.10, but he’s actually played most of his career from the left. At Leverkusen he was the left-sided attacking midfielder in Xabi Alonso’s 3-4-2-1. It’s the same at international level for Germany.

Some would call it an inverted winger, and this would allow a lot of space for Kerkez’s overlapping runs out wide, leaving Szoboszlai to do the unseen work centrally again.

Wirtz would have the freedom to drift inside, leaving the opposing full back unsure whether to track the player, and giving Liverpool numerical superiority centrally - something Slot wants from his side.

In effect, Liverpool would have a box midfield of four, with Gravenberch and Mac Allister at the base and Wirtz and Szoboszlai ahead of them.

Arguably, this is the best option for Liverpool and Wirtz, with the player occupying the role most familiar to him and giving Liverpool overloads in the area that Slot wants, plus more unpredictability in attacking areas.

Wirtz would receive a lot of the ball in the half-spaces between midfield and attack, and be given more time and space to pick those passes that are needed, especially against teams in a low block.

Liverpool fans could see this role as how Philippe Coutinho operated in the final stages of his Reds career, cutting inside from the left with great effect.

Wirtz and Szoboszlai could play as dual no.10s 

This would be a curveball option but it’s one that Slot opted for in the away match at Man City last season to good effect, deploying Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones as the two central attackers.

This option would depend on how successful Liverpool are in acquiring a new centre-forward this summer. If that, for some reason, doesn't happen, then this option could become more of one that Slot opts for.

There would certainly be a lot of interchanging, as there would be with any of these options. But clearly, Liverpool are seeking a no.9, so it cannot be the blueprint long term.

Wirtz has the ability to play as a no.9

Similar to above, if a centre-forward didn’t arrive, Slot could look to play Wirtz as a false nine, dropping deeper, connecting play and having wingers such as Mo Salah, Luis Diaz or Cody Gakpo offering the most depth in attack with runs ahead of the German.

This option, though, seems unlikely as it could negate some of Wirtz’s playmaking qualities. You want him on the ball with options ahead of him - namely, a no.9 who can profit from his creativity.

What’s clear is that Wirtz gives Liverpool huge options. With the arrivals of Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, two full-backs who will stretch opponents’ defence on either side, it will become much more difficult for teams to predict where the next threat will arrive from.

Exciting times for Liverpool, certainly, but also for the Premier League with a genuine superstar signed up at age 22.