Is this true? I can now reveal that Florian Wirtz’s contract contains a highly unusual release clause, first valid from next summer, which can only be triggered by Bayern Munich — set at €60 million. The clause was agreed during delicate negotiations, at a time when Richard Hughes voiced…— Dani (@daniknowsfooty) September 4, 2025 "I can now reveal that Florian Wirtz’s contract contains a highly unusual release clause, first valid from next summer, which can only be triggered by Bayern Munich — set at €60 million..."
Where I think he’s spot on is Slot deciding after 3 PL games and the Community Shield that Wirtz doesn’t have it and that Wirtz himself is upset that he’s getting negative feedback from the Kop. 2 extraordinarily believable things that are most definitely true. Because that’s the way Slot and the Kop roll. Plus of course Hughes would insert a £60m buyout clause on a £110m player. Because that’s the way Hughes rolls. But I’m so stoked that Dani can now reveal these things…
Umm… yeah, we believe that a player we, just on the spur of the moment, decided to spend in excess of £110M deem surplus to needs. That’s exactly how FSG have managed our transfers during their entire tenure as owners of this club! I can just imagine it… Hughes has a wall with a bunch of football players on it, and he’s just throwing darts at it. Edwards says, “I know you’re aiming for Mason Mount, mate… but let’s put some money on this, ‘cause I think your dart throwing technique is for shite!” Hughes, who’s several pints in, staggers up and says “You’re on you wee bastard! I’ll get Mount, just you see… and we’ll get him from ManU, regardless of how it looks!” ‘Lo and behold, Hughes misses with his dart, and we end up going for some unknown guy in Germany, called Wurth or somewhat, and now we decide to go with Wirtz because Hughes missed… Horrified that they have no idea who this guy is, but bound by their bet, they pursue Wirtz for more than £110M. But because they didn’t know that much about him, they are sure to include a “break the glass” clause that magically allows them to sell to BM for a cut-rate price… just because that would be the prudent thing to do… My goodness…
I'm all for maximum points after playing both Newcastle & Arsenal, that's great. And I know the squad has a lot more progress to make. And Isak is an awesome player! But with all this activity, without trying to be too negative, some of my most major takeaways are: - Playing all of Ekitike, Cody, Mo, and Wirtz already leaves a lot of space... now add Isak - Midfield looking a bit soft/open, with Wirtz in there instead of Szobo - Bought 2 FBs but still look pretty damn vulnerable there... apart from Szobo, I guess - Konate looks like he has eyes on his transfer, Guehi not done, bought a teenager - VVD and Mo both look a little like they're showing their age - Is Ekitike a 90M backup? Will he play wide? - After signing Isak... what does the first 11 look like? I'm all for depth, but while I know it's early I'm almost of a mind that they're better playing only 3 of Mo, Cody, Wirtz, Hugo. With Rio and Chiesa, Frimpong cover at RM, that seems like decent-ish depth. Now you add Isak to the mix -- don't get me wrong, it's a hugely exciting signing and a very good problem to have -- and I just wonder how many workers do they have on the wings? With new fullbacks on both sides, Wirtz through mid leaving 2 "proper" CMs to do a lot of running, and (evidently) slowing or distracted CBs... I'm feeling a little exposed, even after such an insane window of acquiring world class talent. What's the first 11? Because most champions tend to have a fairly established 11. Someone tell me which is a better/more effective/balanced front 6... Side A: Wirtz, Ekitike, Mo Szobo, Mac, Grav Side B: Ekitike/Cody, Isak, Mo Wirtz, Mac, Grav I know which one would be preferred in EA FC 26, but what about in an actual football match.
All that said, I just did the math and am not sure if I posted it somewhere here already, but since FSG took over they have spent 46M euros on average for each individual transfer window... so, about 80M pounds per season. And that's before the Elliott transfer. So it's actually more like 77-78M or so. Decent business.
The job they've done selling in general has been incredible over the years... the value they've extracted out of all of the academy, backups, and even wantaway stars has been massive.
Erudite, I get you. These are valid concerns that I have also had in our preseason and EPL games so far… Virtually all your first set of points I completely agree with. I’ve also been a bit worried about how including Wirtz has destabilized our midfield structure (this is arguably why we’ve been much more open to counter-attacks recently). Regarding VvD and Salah, I am not sure we have a good enough dataset to really draw any conclusions - neither of these two will look good if movement through the midfield isn’t good. I honestly think that we are going to see a change in formation with Isak. That we will go to a 4-2-2-2 type formation where Wirtz is allowed to play more wide and we’d have some more flexibility in our pivots, or at least the wide midfielders. This might also fit in with getting two highly mobile fullbacks, but who are a bit challenged height-wise. Basically, instead of what you would normally do these days in dropping back a DM between your two CBs and pushing your FBs forward, instead you’d have a double pivot where you instead push a FB forward but cover with one of the two pivots in that reserved attacking space. This could actually make sense of the recent movement of Szobo to a “nominally” RB position. If you look at how he was moving around he was kind of like a midfielder who would move forward (even centrally) but who was tracking back to fill wide space. The players who would potentially be impacted by his are the traditional “wide attacking” players, like Salah (is it a coincidence that he’s been less involved this year?). The idea being that with two more central attacking players (the top 2 of a 4-2-2-2), that you provide needed width with either the two wide midfielders or an overlapping FB.
If we are talking a 4-2-2: Perhaps this: Forwards: Ekitike and Isak Wide mids: Wirtz/Gakpo and Salah/Szobo Double pivot: Mac/Jones and Gravenberch Backs: Kerkez/Robinson, VvD/Leoni, Konate/Gomez, and Frimpong/Bradley I’m leaving out a lot of people, but you could reasonably see most of those folks substituting into a 4-2-2-2. I really think this is what we are going to see going forward. If you look, there are a myriad variations off that lineup. Salah can take up right forward… Gakpo and Ekitike are interchangeable, as well as Wirtz and Jones. Szobo can basically fit in anywhere in the midfield or RB.
I like what you're saying hb, I think that 4-2-2 looks pretty damn compelling. Don't know why I really didn't consider it, was always thinking diamond with Wirtz underneath... but your depth chart makes a ton of sense, to me at least. I love the idea of Wirtz wide and cutting in, with the likes of any of Ekitike or Isak or Salah, all of whom we know have it in them to make a great outside run, providing that wide outlet. Really curious to see how things evolve under Arne. And I'm feeling better.