Liverpool: New reason Wirtz rejected Bayern to join Reds revealed as ‘important’ request rejected
A Bayern Munich chief has revealed a new reason behind Florian Wirtz’s decision to join Premier League giants Liverpool for £116m in the summer.
The Liverpool star was involved in one of the summer’s biggest transfer sagas once it became clear that he would be following Xabi Alonso in leaving Bayer Leverkusen.
Last season, Wirtz cemented himself as one of the best young attacking midfielders in Europe and he attracted heavy interest from several clubs in the summer.
Initially, Bayern Munich looked to be his most likely destination, while Manchester City were also in the running. However, Liverpool hijacked the deal to break the British transfer record to sign the German international for £116m.
Liverpool later broke the British record transfer record a second time in the summer by signing Alexander Isak from Newcastle United for £125m, though these two players have struggled this season.
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Isak has lacked sharpness after missing pre-season and has had a couple of knocks, while Wirtz has taken time to adapt to life in the Premier League and has been on the periphery in most matches.
Now, Bayern Munich director of football Max Eberl has revealed that Wirtz was denied his preferred shirt number at the Bundesliga giants and this contributed to his decision to join Liverpool.
“We made it clear in all our discussions that we would have loved to have him at Bayern Munich,” Eberl told SportBILD.
“He would have been a great fit for us. Florian then chose Liverpool. I wish him the best of luck in representing German football in the Premier League.
“Shirt numbers are an important topic for players. However, the number 10 he wanted had already been promised to Jamal Musiala. We were completely transparent about that as well.”
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Regarding Isak, former England winger Shaun Wright-Phillips has explained why he thinks he has been the biggest flop in the Premier League this season.
“I would say Alexander Isak, but I know how tough it is to miss pre-season and then come into the league a little behind people,” Wright-Phillips told BestBettingSites.
“I think the agent has to take plenty of the blame. Everything about that move was handled in the wrong way. There was no reason for him to miss training, and he would have been advised to do that, to kick up a stink.
“I think that was a bad idea, and he should have gone to training and got a full pre-season behind him. Whether he was at Newcastle or Liverpool, he’d have hit the ground running. Now he’s chasing everyone, two weeks behind, playing catch-up.
“When you miss pre-season, you’re at more risk of breaking down and getting injured. You get thrown into games without proper conditioning. It’s all well and good training on your own but it just doesn’t match up to a pre-season with your teammates.
“It’s not enough work. The workload and strengthening they’re doing is completely different, so he needs to catch up. He needs to do it quickly, too, because he looks uncomfortable right now.”
