Expert: Wilz can move forward and retreat flexibly in Liverpool s forward line, Flynnon can completely replace Salah

Florian Werz's joining Liverpool may bring new dimensions to the team's tactical system. According to a European football expert, Werz's joining may bring additional tactical play to Liverpool under Slot's rule.

The talented midfielder's transfer from Leverkusen to Premier League champion Liverpool earlier this month has sparked huge expectations from fans. After five and a half years of success at Leverkusen, Wilz joined the Reds as one of the most promising new stars in world football. In order to gain an in-depth understanding of the German international, Liverpool's official website interviewed Andy Brassell, who specializes in European football.

Can you tell us about Wilz's rise at Leverkusen and how he became a key figure in the team?

When he transferred from Cologne to Leverkusen in 2020, the club promised to quickly promote him to the first team. He joined in January and made his debut a few months later. When Leverkusen signed him, he made it clear that "you will go directly to one of the best clubs in Germany and get a chance to play immediately." If you have been to Leverkusen, you will find that everything is in the same place: the court and the training ground are all next to each other. It's a place where there's not much entertainment, you just have to work hard. This is a great place for young players to be completely immersed in football and learn.

How does his style describe his play for those who have never seen him play?

He is an excellent dribbleman, and is excellent at being awesome. When I was talking to Xavi Alonso at Leverkusen about 18 months ago, he said, "Tactics are just a framework, and I trust the players to execute on the court based on their own understanding. But Wiltz has more freedom than others." He trusts Wilz to use his dribbling, passing and scoring skills at the right time. He was given this freedom. In the German national team, he also gained a certain degree of freedom. The 4-2-2-2 formation that Nagelsman often uses is very suitable for Werz and Musiara to play at the same time. Many people think they can't be on the same team at the same time, but Nagelsman said "actually, in the 4-2-2-2 formation, because we have two No. 10 players", and this arrangement is very effective.

Wilz played in the process of winning the league and cup double championships in Leverkusen in 2023-24?

He played a huge role. When Alonso took over, Wilz had just recovered from a cruciate ligament injury and it would take some time to get back in shape. I think Alonso did a great job in managing him, and he came on as a substitute and scored a hat-trick in the championship game against Bremen. No one will exclude Wiltz from the starting lineup again. But Alonso dared to rotate all the good players, which kept them fresh, especially for Wiltz.

What role do you think he will play in Slot's system?

I have a small theory that he thinks that Wiltz might bring some flexibility to Liverpool. If he is centered in the frontcourt trio, like Wiltz in the center, Salah on the right, Dias or Garkepo on the left, then Wiltz can retreat and still be able to enter the frontcourt position and score the goal. This may form a double striker combination. We know that these players can play in the middle and they are all excellent shooters.

He was a teammate when he was at Leverkusen with another Liverpool new player Flynnpon. What do you think fans can expect from this Dutch international?

They are very good friends on and off the court. They cooperated with each other, because Flynnon often flipped forward, which allowed Wilz to find him and pass the ball to him. Flynnon grew up to be an excellent player in Leverkusen. Alonso gave him more freedom to play in a higher position, and over time he learned how to make better use of these positions. He has always been good at using speed to find space, and later he has improved in his last pass and shots. In recent national team matches, the Netherlands even allowed him to play the right-hand offensive role in the 4-3-3 formation. If you need to give Salah some rest time, Flynnon can take over his position. He has developed amazing versatility and has become more calm and skilled in using the space created by speed.