Liverpool Target Bayern Star Lennart Karl as Wirtz Struggles

When Jürgen Klopp walked into Anfield almost a decade ago, many expected a German invasion to follow. The logic felt obvious: German coach, Bundesliga roots, a league full of players who fit his high-octane football.

He certainly tried to make it happen.

Klopp pushed for Timo Werner. He wanted Julian Brandt. Mario Götze, too, was on his wishlist at one stage. Liverpool, though, went in different directions. Werner’s spot went to Diogo Jota. Brandt’s to Mohamed Salah. History has been fairly kind to those choices.

The Bundesliga pipeline still flowed. Dominik Szoboszlai, Ibrahima Konaté, Ryan Gravenberch, Joel Matip, Naby Keïta – all came via Germany. But the biggest name to arrive from that league didn’t walk through the door under Klopp at all.

That was Florian Wirtz.

Wirtz stutters on Merseyside

Liverpool beating Manchester City and Bayern Munich to Wirtz was billed as a statement. The kind of deal that underlined a new era. A generational playmaker, plucked from Bayer Leverkusen after starring under Xabi Alonso, choosing Anfield over Europe’s superpowers.

The buzz off the pitch was huge. On it, it has barely flickered.

Wirtz has opened the season in flat, forgettable fashion. Liverpool are struggling to feed him in the spaces where he thrived in Germany; when he does see the ball, he has not imposed himself. No rhythm, no swagger, none of the constant threat that made him such a force in the Bundesliga.

The club expected far more. Right now, they are not getting it.

This is not beyond repair, though. Far from it. At Leverkusen, Alonso built a structure that revolved around Wirtz – zones tailored to his strengths, runners around him, responsibility on his shoulders. If Liverpool commit to something similar, if they shape the system to let him dictate rather than simply fit in, the German international has the tools to come alive again.

While that tactical dilemma plays out, Liverpool’s recruitment department is already looking at the next German star.

Liverpool move for “wonderkid” Lennart Karl

According to Ekrem Konur, Liverpool have made informal contact over Bayern Munich sensation Lennart Karl, a teenager already being talked about in superlatives around Germany.

Karl has been labelled the greatest German talent of his generation. A bold tag, but his profile backs up the hype: a natural No.10 who can also drift wide, technically sharp, inventive, and fearless in tight spaces.

He has already caught Klopp’s eye in his new role as Germany head coach. Speaking in his second press conference with the national team, Klopp offered a striking endorsement of the Bayern youngster.

"When I met Lennart for the first time and shook his hand, I immediately realised: this boy is ready. He's a real powerhouse and very confident, with very pleasant manners. He's also a bit 'cheeky/sassy', which I like. He had some outstanding moments before his injury. It was a really unfortunate time for him to get injured," Klopp said.

Karl is only 18. Yet he already has 19 goal contributions in 45 appearances for Bayern’s first team – serious output for a player still learning the game at the very top level.

For Liverpool, prising him away from Bayern would be an audacious move. Remarkable, even, given the German champions’ reluctance to lose their crown jewels.

But if the club believes Wirtz can still be unlocked, and Karl represents the next wave of German creativity, the question is obvious: are Liverpool quietly building a new, long-term core around the very kind of talent people once assumed Klopp would bring from day one?