There is no doubt who should be Liverpool’s new No. 7 once Luis Diaz leaves

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Liverpool took a significant step towards one of their biggest ever sales on Sunday.

The Reds have always been savvy operators in the market, and it will take some doing to top the £142m they received for Philippe Coutinho in 2018.

Barcelona also handed Liverpool their second biggest ever fee, splashing £75m on Luis Suarez in 2014.

If it all goes through, the price agreed for Luis Diaz to join Bayern Munich will sit as the third biggest sale in Liverpool history.

Diaz is set to join Bayern for £65.5m, having spent a productive three-and-a-half years at Anfield.

As he departs Liverpool as a Premier League champion, the Colombian will also vacate the iconic No. 7 shirt. And with Diaz on his way to Munich, it is already clear who should step into his number.

Florian Wirtz must be Liverpool’s new No. 7

Diaz was not always No. 7 at Liverpool. He initially wore No. 23 after arriving from Porto.

However, the 28-year-old always felt destined to pick up a more premium number, and did so when James Milner left in 2023.

With the No. 7 on his back, Diaz put up his two most productive seasons at Liverpool. He may not have been Kenny Dalglish, but he still wore the legendary shirt with aplomb.

As the number is one of the most highly-sought after in football, fans will be intrigued to see who succeeds Diaz.

READ MORE: Bayern Munich fans all in agreement about Luis Diaz as fee agreed with Liverpool

But, in our opinion, there is no question that Florian Wirtz has to be the player to take over the mantle.

Wirtz wore No. 10 at Bayer Leverkusen, but with Alexis Mac Allister already in place, there is little chance of him doing the same at Liverpool.

There have been suggestions that Wirtz could wear No. 27, which he chose when breaking through at Bayer Leverkusen. But with No. 7 soon to be available, it all just fits. It has to be him.

Are there any other candidates?

Looking through the Liverpool squad, and there really are no other genuine candidates who could rival Wirtz for the No. 7.

The only way the German does not end up in the number, as far as we can tell, is if Liverpool go on to sign a more orthodox winger who prefers the shirt.

In that case, it might make more sense if Wirtz takes on his old No. 27 and leaves Diaz’s old one to someone else.

However, with Liverpool pushing to sign Alexander Isak, we don’t see them also signing another wide forward. Isak will surely take the No. 9, leaving Wirtz free to make his choice.

It is a shame to see Diaz leave, and the same will be true of Darwin Nunez if he also goes. But if Wirtz and Isak are Liverpool’s new numbers 7 and 9, that is likely to be an absolutely enormous upgrade.