Liverpool Pursue Bayern's Rising Star Lennart Karl as Wirtz Struggles
When Jürgen Klopp walked through the doors at Anfield all those years ago, many assumed a wave of German talent would follow him to Merseyside. It never quite unfolded that way.
He tried. Hard.
Timo Werner was a target. So were Julian Brandt and Mario Götze at different points of Klopp’s Liverpool reign. The club went in other directions – and those “plan B” calls turned out to be era-defining. Werner became Diogo Jota. Brandt became Mo Salah. History speaks for itself.
Klopp still shopped in the Bundesliga, of course. Dominik Szoboszlai and Ibrahima Konaté arrived from there. Ryan Gravenberch, Joël Matip and Naby Keïta too. But the biggest name Liverpool have prised from Germany actually came after Klopp’s time in charge.
And right now, that signing is a problem they’re still trying to solve.
Wirtz yet to catch fire at Anfield
Florian Wirtz landed at Liverpool amid huge fanfare. The club had seen off Manchester City and Bayern Munich to get him. That alone raised expectations to a dangerous level.
On the pitch, the buzz has not survived contact with reality.
Wirtz has opened the season in underwhelming fashion. “Average” would be kind. Liverpool are struggling to find him between the lines, in the pockets where he shredded defences for Bayer Leverkusen. When he does receive the ball, the spark that defined his Bundesliga rise has been missing.
He has been disappointing. The club expected far more from a player billed as one of Europe’s elite creators.
The template for fixing it is clear, though. At Leverkusen, Xabi Alonso built a structure that revolved around Wirtz – the pressing triggers, the rotations, the zones of influence. Everything tilted towards getting the best from the German playmaker. If Liverpool commit to something similar, reshaping their system to put Wirtz back at the centre of the picture, there is still every chance he can rediscover that form.
While they wrestle with that tactical conundrum, Liverpool’s gaze has already turned back to Germany. And to another prodigious No.10.
Liverpool make move for “wonderkid” Lennart Karl
According to Ekrem Konur, Liverpool have made informal contact over Bayern Munich’s rising star Lennart Karl, a teenager who has already smashed multiple records with the German champions.
The hype around Karl in his homeland is intense. He has been labelled the greatest German talent of his generation – a statement that carries weight in a country producing elite midfielders and forwards almost by default.
Karl is a natural No.10, but he can drift wide, operate between the lines and hurt teams from different angles. Those who have watched him closely rave about his technical quality: close control, vision, the ability to receive under pressure and turn in tight spaces.
Klopp himself, now in charge of the German national team, has already gone on record with his admiration. Speaking in his second press conference as Germany head coach, he said:
“When I met Lennart for the first time and shook his hand, I immediately realised: this boy is ready. He's a real powerhouse and very confident, with very pleasant manners. He's also a bit 'cheeky/sassy', which I like. He had some outstanding moments before his injury. It was a really unfortunate time for him to get injured.”
That is not casual praise. Klopp does not hand out those words lightly.
Karl is only 18, yet he already has 19 goal contributions in 45 appearances for Bayern’s first team. For a teenager at a club that ruthless, that stacked with attacking options, those numbers jump off the page.
If Liverpool manage to prise him away from Bavaria, it would be a stunning coup – and a clear statement about where they see the future of their attack. The question now is simple: can they build a stage big enough for both Wirtz and Karl to shine, or does one German prodigy arrive just as another finally explodes?
