Florian Wirtz to Liverpool: Why Liverpool target is better than Manchester City signing Rayan Cherki

Florian Wirtz will prove to be a better signing for Liverpool than Rayan Cherki for Manchester City, Reds transfer expert David Lynch has insisted.

The Merseysiders are reportedly close to securing the services of Bayer Leverkusen attacker Wirtz, who has been the subject of bids in excess of £100m from Arne Slot's side.

Rivals Manchester City have signed a playmaker of their own, with the club bringing in Cherki from Lyon this summer for a fee in the region of £30m.

Comparisons between Wirtz and Cherki have already been made, with some suggesting that the latter is the better player, but Lynch insisted that both City and the Reds know that Wirtz is a level above, telling Sports Mole: "It's worth saying that they're both very good players and I know for a fact that Liverpool were looking at Cherki.

"There's a comparison saying that one's going to be far better than the other and obviously Cherki comes cheaper, which is helpful if you want to spread your money, but there's no doubt in my mind that both sets of recruitment staff know who is the better player and why there is such a high valuation on Wirtz's head at the moment.

"Both sets of recruitment staff know who's the better player. It's a rare one for Liverpool [in the sense that] they've won there in getting Wirtz ahead of Cherki. They will hope now that he delivers on all that promise and the fact that he does look an incredible player and is the better of the two, but of course football is played on grass so we'll have to see how it actually plays out."

Manchester City were thought to be long-term admirers of Wirtz, and the fact that the German playmaker was valued so highly compared to Cherki suggests that the Liverpool target is considered to be among the best in the world in his position.

Why Wirtz is better than Cherki

Wirtz's ability with the ball at his feet is unquestionable - the German scored 16 goals and provided 14 assists for Leverkusen last term - but he is also excellent out of possession.

The 22-year-old ranked second of all players in the Bundesliga for duels won (383), and his defensive contributions far outweigh Cherki's, who was at times guilty of not fulfilling his duties without the ball.

Speaking to Sports Mole, Lynch suggested that Wirtz's rounded skillset could soon help him be recognised universally as the better player in a similar manner to how Erling Haaland was quickly recognised as being better than Darwin Nunez, saying: "Rivals say City got Cherki for this amount and that they can't believe Liverpool paid so much, but in the end the more expensive one generally tends to to go on and be the better player.

"I remember the Haaland and Nunez comparisons from a few years back and I think it's fair to say that City won that one, so Liverpool will be hoping for a similar outcome in their favour this time, but it's all about what actually happens when they turn up in the league and whether they fit into the systems and whether the managers can get the best out of them.

"But I just think Wirtz is the bigger talent and the more promising player, which is why he's going for so much more money, but he's got to now go and prove why that is."

Nunez and Haaland arrived in England in the summer of 2022, and though many expected the Liverpool and Manchester City strikers to be the face of their respective clubs, it quickly became apparent that the latter was a more accomplished forward.

When will Wirtz's deal be completed?

After contradictory reports on Tuesday emerged regarding a fee being agreed with Leverkusen, fans have been speculating about when an announcement of a deal could be made.

The German was part of his country's squad that played France in the Nations League on Sunday, and now that he has completed his international duty, there is an expectation that the move to Liverpool will progress quickly.

Lynch expressed his his view that an agreement will be struck imminently, when he told Sports Mole: "We don't know the timescale around that [bid] but it feels imminent and I'd be very surprised if that bid goes in and it isn't accepted by Leverkusen because it's very close to what they were putting the asking price at.

"There's no time pressure on Liverpool because they're not in the Club World Cup so that's absolutely fine. He could do his medical this week and then the deal will eventually be ratified when the second window opens. It's not a problem and the only time pressure is they'll want to get it wrapped up so that Wirtz can go on holiday.

"I do expect the deal to be done and then the player can come over, have his medical, do his interviews and then he can go off on holiday and wait for the new season to start."

Having already signed Jeremie Frimpong from Leverkusen, and with a deal for left-back Milos Kerkez reportedly advancing, bringing in Wirtz before the end of the month would put Liverpool in a position of strength ahead of pre-season.

> Click here to listen to the full discussion on Liverpool's pursuit of Wirtz

Written by
Lewis Nolan