Wirtz named Germany's Player of the Year

Liverpool's club-record signing Florian Wirtz has been named Germany's player of the year, further cementing the attacking midfielder's status as a rising star.

Wirtz, whose £100 million ($134 million) transfer fee with add-ons could rise to £116 millon in what would be a British record, secured 191 votes among German sports journalists, putting him comfortably ahead of runner-up Michael Olise of Bayern Munich, who garnered 81 votes.

The 22-year-old attacking midfielder arrived at Anfield from Bayer Leverkusen in June, part of a spending spree that has seen players including French forward Hugo Ekitike and Hungarian leftback Milos Kerkez join the squad as Liverpool bid to retain the Premier League title.

Wirtz has been hailed as one of the "top players in the world. He is world class," by former Leverkusen coach and ex-Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, who is the new boss of Real Madrid.

After joining, Wirtz told Liverpool's website that he "would like to win everything every year!"

"In the end, we want to be successful," he said.

"Last season they won the Premier League so my goal is for sure to win it again and also to go further in the Champions League. I'm really ambitious," he added.

Wirtz played a key role in Leverkusen's greatest season as they claimed a first-ever Bundesliga title and the German Cup in 2023/24 without losing a single game domestically under Alonso.

Their only defeat that season, during which Wirtz was crowned Bundesliga player of the year, came in the Europa League final to Italian side Atalanta, denying Leverkusen a memorable treble.

A return of 57 goals and 65 assists in 197 games for Leverkusen is evidence that he carries a threat both as a creator and a goalscorer.

Liverpool are already blessed with an abundance of forward options -- including Mohammed Salah -- but the club are banking on Wirtz's creativity to help maintain the 33-year-old's prolific goalscoring and ease the burden of carrying the Liverpool attack.