Andoni Iraola has been at Anfield only a matter of weeks, but ONE reports that his blueprint for the new season already has a clear centre of gravity: Florian Wirtz.
The Basque coach, who replaced the sacked Arne Slot on a two-year deal, is planning to pull Wirtz inside from the flank he so often occupied last season and install him as a genuine number 10, playing directly behind the striker.
"We need all players in good condition, but especially Florian," Iraola said, according to ONE. "He is a very complete player, and I believe we will try to add more qualities to those he already has."
It is a notable change of emphasis. Under Slot, Wirtz was shuffled between the left wing, a false nine and the occasional spell centrally, and while his talent was never in doubt, his debut Premier League campaign never quite matched the hype that greeted his British-record move.
ONE reports that Wirtz finished his first season in England with seven goals and ten assists in 49 appearances across all competitions - a solid if unspectacular return for a player Liverpool paid a club-record fee to sign, reported by Sky Sports at around £116.5m plus add-ons.
Slot paid the price for a chastening second season, in which Liverpool slipped to a fifth-place finish and were eliminated from the Champions League, and he was sacked on May 30 despite having won the Premier League title only a year earlier.
Iraola arrives after three impressive seasons at Bournemouth, where he built a reputation as one of the Premier League's sharpest tactical minds on a modest budget, and he was the only candidate formally interviewed for the Liverpool job.
The departure of Mohamed Salah, who left Anfield as a free agent in March after mutually agreeing to terminate his contract a year early, has also reshaped the attacking picture that Iraola inherits.
With Salah's spot on the right no longer a fixture, and the forward line open to reshuffling, Iraola appears to see an opportunity to build his attack around Wirtz's passing and creativity rather than ask him to adapt to a system designed for others.
Wirtz himself has sounded receptive to the switch. "I was always more like a number 10," he said this week, confirming he had discussed the role with his new coach and adding, simply, "let's see."
For a player signed to be Liverpool's next talisman, a central role finally built around his own strengths - rather than around the team he joined - may be exactly what his second season in England needs.
