Good news for Florian Wirtz! Liverpool FC are set to make major changes to their line-up without Mohamed Salah

According to the report, Liverpool will not automatically sign a new right winger for their tried-and-tested 4-2-3-1 formation. Rather, the focus is on manager Arne Slot’s intention to have his team play increasingly in a 4-2-2-2 formation in future. In this setup, the two exorbitantly expensive strikers, Alexander Isak (signed from Newcastle United for €145 million) and Hugo Ekitike (signed from Eintracht Frankfurt for €95 million), are set to form a strike partnership. This has hardly been seen so far this season, partly because the Swede has rarely been fit and has only played ten matches.

Things are also set to get exciting behind the strike duo: the plan here is for two attacking midfielders, Florian Wirtz and Dominik Szoboszlai, to share the central midfield. They are to be supported by two defensive midfielders, who are currently likely to be Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister. The Argentine World Cup winner would therefore have to play a more defensive role than he usually does at the moment. It is said that having the summer signings Isak, Ekitike and Wirtz in the same team is a “priority”.

For Wirtz, this change would likely be welcome news. At his former club, Bayer Leverkusen, he excelled in attacking midfield as the linchpin of the attack. At Liverpool, however, he initially struggled in that role and has since been regularly deployed as a left winger.

Salah announced his departure from Liverpool at the end of the season earlier this week. The Egyptian international is leaving the fifth-placed side after nine years and great success. It is still unclear where Salah will sign. Clubs from the Saudi Pro League and the MLS are considered favourites.

The 33-year-old said in a video posted on his official social media channels: “Unfortunately, the day has now come. This is the first part of my farewell. I will be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season.” Reflecting on special moments in a Reds shirt, he added: “I could never have imagined how much this club, this city and the people would become a part of my life. Liverpool is not just a club. It is a passion. I cannot even put it into words."

His current teammate Wirtz wrote: "It has been an honour for me to this day."