Michael Edwards is about to ignore one of his most important principles and make a mistake at Liverpool

Liverpool are set to make the biggest signing of the summer so far as they close in on Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen.

Indeed, Wirtz is set to sign for the Reds in a deal that could end up being a British-record transfer.

As you can imagine, there’s plenty of excitement around Wirtz’s arrival at Liverpool, but there’s reason to believe this transfer won’t have the impact many are expecting.

Football isn’t quite as simple as signing another attacking player meaning there’s more goals in the team, and that’s something Michael Edwards knows better than most.

Edwards identified years ago that stuffing attackers into one team doesn’t make your side more potent, which is partially why he sold Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona in 2018, as explained by Ian Graham.

Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images

Why Michael Edwards sold Philippe Coutinho may suggest Florian Wirtz signing is a mistake

Speaking to Men In Blazers, Ian Graham explained the thought process behind selling Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona.

Coutinho was incredible for Liverpool, but the theory was that having four amazing attacking players wasn’t actually adding much to the side, claiming that there are diminishing returns based on how much attacking talent you have on the pitch.

“And Michael Edwards knew exactly the same thing as well. So we were all absolutely aligned on it. And, you know, there’s this concept of diminishing returns,” Graham said.

“So Coutinho was a loss. But if you got three brilliant attackers already on the pitch and you score three goals per game, the fourth isn’t going to get you an extra goal. It’s going to get you an extra half a goal or something.

“It’s not it’s not the same bang as going from zero great attackers to one great attacker.”

Graham then shared a similar, more fleshed-out, theory on The High Performance Podcast.

“There’s this concept in in football, as in many areas of life of diminishing returns. And so for every extra attacker you put on, who wants to take a shot? You know, if you say, Coutinho takes five shots again, that’s too high, Coutinho takes three shots a game, Mo takes three shots a game, you put them on the pitch together, you’re not going to get six, you’re getting like five or five and a half, because they take shots from each other,” Graham explained.

“So, because our attack was so loaded, there was a diminishing returns. It was hard for us to put, well, I didn’t have to do it, thankfully. It was hard for Jurgen to put all four players out on the pitch at the same time.

“Whereas, you know, it was the opposite of diminishing returns, like a great defender.”

Now, Liverpool may be about to make a very similar mistake as they add Wirtz to a team that already has numerous incredible attacking talents.

Liverpool’s attacking depth analysed

Liverpool sold Coutinho for a big fee back in 2018 due to the fact they felt Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane had enough to carry their attack.

Three fantastic attacking players was seen as enough depth by Liverpool at that time.

However, here we are, seven years later, and Liverpool are about to add another attacker despite the fact they have six high-profile attackers who can play in numerous positions.

Left wing Striker Right wing Luis Diaz Diogo Jota Mohamed Salah Cody Gakpo Luis Diaz Federico Chiesa Diogo Jota Cody Gakpo Darwin Nunez

Wirtz is likely to play in a midfield role next season, so the Reds will again be in a position where they have four, remarkable, attacking players on the pitch at the same time, and, as Graham warned, there are diminishing returns at that level.

That isn’t to say that Wirtz won’t perform brilliantly, but don’t be surprised if, on the whole, Liverpool’s attacking numbers don’t skyrocket as Wirtz may take goals and assists away from the likes of Salah, Luis Diaz or Cody Gakpo next term rather than simply adding more goals to this team.

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