Why Liverpool fans are missing the point in Man City Florian Wirtz vs Rayan Cherki debate

The last time Liverpool and Manchester City signed a player with a similar profile in the same summer, it was a no-contest in the battle for value.

Although the danger of jumping to premature conclusions was on show in August 2022, when Darwin Nunez scored in the Community Shield and Erling Haaland missed a couple of good chances, Liverpool fans claimed the upper hand on social media.

Fast forward three years, and Nunez is set to leave Anfield via the side door this summer, having failed to even get close to fulfilling his £85million price tag. Haaland has 121 goals in 142 games for City and still has nine years to run on his Etihad contract.

The duel for social media one-upmanship between the two fan bases should be a little more even between Florian Wirtz and Rayan Cherki this season. Both look like exciting additions to the Premier League, and although the binary world of some supporters won't allow it, it might just be the case that both prove to be brilliant signings.

Liverpool's potential British record £116million deal for Wirtz is a statement of intent, of that there is no doubt. If Pep Guardiola thought he could strengthen his City side, add a bit of fresh energy, and reclaim the title relatively comfortably - and he didn't think that - he will know now that Arne Slot's side plan on keeping hold of the crown.

But unlike Haaland vs. Nunez, the Wirtz vs. Cherki debate is a bit more nuanced, even if Liverpool fans believe they have the better player. Cherki's exciting cameo during the Nations League showed that it wasn't quite as clear.

Maybe the most obvious issue with trying to compare the two and assessing whether it's the young German or the young Frenchman that ends up having the greater influence this season