Klopp warns Wirtz of price tag pressure after £116m Liverpool move

Former Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp has praised Florian Wirtz as an “outstanding player” but warned that the £116 million fee attached to his transfer from Bayer Leverkusen will place a huge burden of expectation on the 22-year-old.

In comments to Welt, Klopp, now serving as Head of Global Football Operations at Red Bull, called the British record transfer fee “insane”.

He suggested that Wirtz will be under intense criticism if performances dip even briefly.

“There’s no question about it, it’s an insane sum, and one that a player at Liverpool is aware of if things don’t go well for two or three games,” Klopp stated.

Klopp acknowledged his previous remarks about refusing to pay €100m for a player, saying, “I know I once said that I’m out if we pay 100 million euros for a player. But the world is changing. That’s just the way the market is.”

While he backed Wirtz’s talent, Klopp was cautious in his expectations of the player:

“He’s an outstanding player who can give any club something great.

“Whether he’ll make the reigning English champions even better remains to be seen.”

Wirtz will join Liverpool’s pre-season tour in Asia in the coming weeks and could benefit from the presence of Jeremie Frimpong, his former Leverkusen teammate, who also joined the club this summer.