'Easily the best signing of the summer!' - Liverpool lauded for Florian Wirtz deal as ex-Reds star hails huge £116m deal

The Reds have secured Wirtz in one of the biggest deals of the summer window, paying a huge £116m fee to spirit the Germany international away from Bayer Leverkusen. The attacking midfielder is coming off the back of a season in which he scored 16 goals and registered 15 assists in all competitions.

Babbel believes Wirtz will prove to be worth every penny, and insists he would still pick him as the signing of the summer if he had joined Manchester United instead. Now, with Arne Slot's side aiming to retain the Premier League title, he has been joined at Anfield by former Leverkusen team-mate Jeremie Frimpong, and ex-Bournemouth defender Milos Kerkez.

Babbel told Gameshub: “Florian Wirtz is easily the best signing of the summer transfer window so far. That was the deal of the year in my opinion and that isn’t just because the Premier League champions signed him; if Man United had made the deal, it would be no different – he’s a fantastic player that will add so much value to the team.

“No one was talking about Liverpool getting the deal done either! Everyone assumed he’d join Bayern Munich, Man City or Real Madrid. But it was always clear to me from the start that he’d be heading to Liverpool to play under Arne Slot and alongside some of the best players in Europe, such as Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah.

“I would be surprised if a club managed to pull off a signing as good as Wirtz to Liverpool. For me, there’s no doubt that he’s the best signing of the window.”

Wirtz will continue to prepare for his Premier League bow throughout pre-season. The Reds start their preparatory fixtures against Preston North End this weekend, with the game confirmed to go ahead after the tragic death of Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre.