3 weeks ago
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Former Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva has backed Florian Wirtz to shine at Anfield this season and shake off the pressure of his $157 million (£116M) price tag
The German signed from Bayer Leverkusen in June for an initial fee of $135M (£100M), with a potential £16M ($22M) in further add-ons. Should Wirtz and Liverpool meet all those additional clauses, his move to Merseyside will become the most expensive transfer in Premier League history.
At 22, despite his relative lack of experience, Lucas doesn’t think this will impact Wirtz. The ex-Red can provide some insight, having shared a dressing room with Fernando Torres, Luis Suarez, and Andy Carroll, who all arrived for significant fees during his playing days.
That Wirtz has already overcome challenges at club and international level will help the new signing, believes Lucas.
“Of course, the price tag, it always comes with big expectations but I think he has shown that he is capable of doing that and he won the league, the cup and he has good experience as a national team player, so I think he is arriving in a team that is very well organised, which will just give him the freedom to express himself,” the 38-year-old told the Liverpool ECHO in Hong Kong.
“I have seen him a bit, not much, but I think he is a midfielder who can score goals, can assist and link up with the strikers.
“We don't know the system that Arne [Slot] will probably play, but I think he will add something different to the players we have in midfield.
"I think new signings are always welcome when they come to add something more to this squad, because it is what players expect from the new players: to add something more that they maybe don't have, or they have to replace someone that had to leave or moved on.”
New signings mean inevitable competition for places, which Lucas claims should be viewed as a positive for the squad, while building up the group from a position of strength this summer should help the it for many years to come.
“It's important that these new players will feel the culture of the team that will help them to succeed but the players who are here already, they have a strong base to keep going forward,” Lucas added, on the seven summer arrivals so far.
“So it doesn't mean that we spend a lot of money and we're going to win. But it's clear that I am sure they will add something the team needs to keep competitive.”
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