Midfielder · #0 · American Samoa · 24 yrs
Florian Wirtz arrived at Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen last summer amid great fanfare in a then-British record £116m deal - but remained an enigma as he fell far short of expectations. Liverpool still have huge hopes for a gifted attacking player who has only just turned 23, which means one of Andoni Iraola's main tasks is to find a settled position for the German to release the talent he demonstrated before moving to Anfield. This is why Iraola will have been intrigued by what he saw from Wirtz in Germany's 7-1 win against Curacao in their opening World Cup game.
It's staggering to think that Sunderland qualified for Europe just a year after scraping through the Championship play-offs. The Black Cats were solid all season long, largely thanks to a settled and solid back line featuring the outstanding Nordi Mukiele and Robin Roefs in goal.
