Nottingham Forest selects Florian Wirtz with fifth draft pick hero image

Nottingham Forest selects Florian Wirtz with fifth draft pick

The German international makes a transfer from Liverpool despite the position not being an obvious area of need.

Published: 23 Apr 2026 14:01 GMT • 4h ago

Nottingham Forest selected 22-year-old German attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz from Liverpool with the fifth pick in the draft, opting for a strategy of choosing the best player available. The German international has 39 caps and 10 goals for his country and a current Transfermarkt market value of €110.00m.

The club's low league position was viewed as being more a result of instability than a lack of squad quality. The selection was made despite the position not being an obvious area of need, as Morgan Gibbs-White had scored 12 league goals from that role. To accommodate Wirtz, the team is expected to make adjustments, such as playing him on the wing or shifting to a dual playmaker system.