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Graziadaily
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Graziadaily
Jonathan Bailey And Scarlett Johansson: Unpacking The Politics Of A Platonic Red Carpet Kiss
Something happened at the London premiere of Jurassic World Rebirth that caused ripples online. Scarlett Johansson, the star of the film, walked over to her co-star Jonathan Bailey on the red carpet and planted a smooch on his lips. It's worth disclaiming off the bat that Johansson is married to Saturday Night Live comedian Colin Jost, and that Bailey is openly gay. In theory, those disclaimers, and the fact the kiss looked consensual between two close friends and colleagues, should be enough to put the discourse to bed. But, of course, that's not how the digital world works, is it? Photos, videos and memes of Johansson in her pink Vivienne Westwood dress kissing a blazer and baseball cap-wearing Bailey have gone viral. The story has also been reported by various news outlets around the world. Jonathan Bailey und Scarlett Johansson at the world premiere. (Photo: IMAGO) Page Six, for one, shared the images on X with the caption: 'Colin Jost, you seem to have some competition.' While Vulture covered the story with the title, 'Jonathan Bailey is allowed to kiss your wife.' The Today Show's headline reads, 'Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey kiss on the red carpet and fans approve.' Speaking of fans, one X user wrote: 'Scarlett Johansson just doing what you supposed to do when you have your crush close to you,' and attached a junket video of the actress gushing about her co-star. In the clip, Johansson is speaking to BBC Radio 1 and said, 'I will say my current celebrity crush because I am working with him and he's too cute for words and it's Jonathan Bailey. I absolutely love him. I have such a crush on him.' As such another X user simply posited, 'You know it's #PrideMonth when a hot straight girl kisses a hot gay man.' While a third wrote, 'This new collaboration and friendship warms my heart.' However, the picture was not as positive over on Instagram. Under a clip of the kiss, one person commented: 'So its okay for a married woman to kiss a gay man on the lips? You have some real weird customs in the States not gonna lie.' Another wrote, 'Wait, I'm so confused.' A third comment reads, 'Just because you played in a movie together doesn't give you the right to just kiss each other when you see each other at celebrity events.' If you watch the full clip, which is less than 30 seconds long, Johansson claps excitedly as she spots Bailey on the carpet before walking over and giving him a quick kiss and a longer hug. They both look extremely happy to see each other. The video proves how misleading a still image can be without context. That's not to say public kisses should always be taken at face value or that we should freely give the benefit of the doubt. There have been countless uncomfortable moments over the years where the public and media have been privy to a seemingly non-consensual kiss. Earlier this year, Spain's former football federation boss, Luis Rubiales, was found guilty of sexual assault for kissing the player Jenni Hermoso without consent when Spain won the 2023 Women's World Cup. He was ordered to pay a fine of €10,800 (£8,942). Johansson has even been on the receiving end of an awkward red carpet kiss herself. In 2015, John Travolta planted a peck on Johansson's cheek at the Oscars and in the viral picture she looks somewhat disengaged. However, kisses really do come on a case by case basis. She later released a statement to say the viral photo was taken out of context. 'There is nothing strange, creepy or inappropriate about John Travolta,' she told the Associated Press. 'The image that is circulating is an unfortunate still-frame from a live-action encounter that was very sweet and totally welcome.' She continued, 'That still photo does not reflect what preceded and followed if you see the moment live. Yet another way we are misguided, misinformed and sensationalised by the 24-hour news cycle. I haven't seen John in some years, and it is always a pleasure to be greeted by him.' The reality is any time famous co-stars or contemporaries share a kiss in public – especially if they are not dating – it is bound to spark a conversation. In 2021, Jessica Chastain was forced to respond to her viral PDA moment with her Scenes From a Marriage co-star Oscar Isaac at the Venice Film Festival. While posing for photos together on the red carpet, Isaac grabbed Chastain's arm and kissed her inner bicep. It was met with a similar degree of social media chatter as Johansson and Bailey's moment – particularly because Isaac and Chastain are both married. Chastain responded by tweeting a photo of The Addams Family 's Gomez Addams kissing Morticia Addams' arm, captioning it with a devil emoji and 'Sept 12th' which was the release date of their new show. It also transpired that the pair had been friends for more than 20 years, having first met while studying at Juilliard together. In other words, there was nothing untoward about the bicep kiss, even if it isn't most co-stars' go-to pose. At Cannes this year, Pedro Pascal and Alexander Skarsgard shared their own 'viral kiss' (on the cheek) after Skarsgard's film Pillion received a seven-minute standing ovation. This was equally harmless and sweet, not least because Skarsgard recently became a father with his partner Tuva Novotny and the pair are good friends. Nevertheless, their platonic affection became a talking point. Sometimes it doesn't even have to be a kiss, either. Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, who co-starred in the romcom Anyone But You, are constantly bombarded with questions about the state of their relationship. Despite confirming that they are just friends, their tactile friendship and comfortability gushing about each other is always a source of confusion for fans on social media. It's been almost two years since their film came out and they are still 'shipped' on a weekly basis. In the post #MeToo era, our collective up-tightness around platonic PDA makes sense. If we're going to default to any position, questioning kisses between co-stars or friends who aren't romantically involved seems like a sensible one. However, we mustn't let it warp our sense of what healthy, friendly, reciprocated affection looks like in the process. Not every kiss is suspicious. And if those involved don't mind, then we shouldn't either. Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across entertainment, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things pop culture for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow with equal respect).
DW
a day ago
- Politics
- DW
Who killed Patrice Lumumba, DR Congo's first prime minister? – DW – 06/18/2025
For Juliana Lumumba, Patrice Lumumba wasn't just an independence leader and politician. He has her father. That's why she continues to call for the truth about Lumumba's assassination 64 years ago. For more than 60 years, Juliana Lumumba has had questions. Who murdered her father? How did the Americans help? What did the United Nations do? Did they stand idly by, even though he was under their protection? They are uncomfortable questions, political questions. And Juliana will not rest until she has answers. "You cannot be the child of Patrice Lumumba without this impacting your life" she says. Her gaze is composed as she looks out of the window of her house in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lumumba murder case could go to trial On June 17, the Belgian federal prosecutor's office announced that it has requested that the case in connection with the assassination of Juliana's father be referred to a Brussels criminal court. It follows more than a decade of investigation. On Congo's independence day in 1960, Patrice Lumumba spoke about the atrocities inflicted on Congolese people under Belgian colonial rule, angering King Baudouin (in white) Image: Belga/IMAGO The Belgian state is partly responsible for the murder. A 2001 parliamentary investigation established that King Baudouin, Belgium's then-monarch, knew about the assassination plan but did nothing to stop it. Juliana's brother Francois, the plaintiff in a 2011 complaint, accused the Belgian state of war crimes and torture, and of having been part of a conspiracy aimed at the political and physical elimination of his father. Lumumba fought for the Congo's independence On June 30, 1960, Patrice Lumumba freed the Congo from Belgian colonial rule and became the country's first prime minister. He promised democracy, prosperity and an end to the exploitation of Congolese minerals by foreign powers. But that never happened. The West – in particular Belgium and the US — opposed Lumumba's plans to nationalize Congo's raw materials and his proximity with the Soviet Union in the midst of the Cold War. On January 17, 1961, half a year after Lumumba was elected the first prime minister of a free Congo, Congolese separatists took him to the hostile province of Katanga – with Belgian and American blessing. Lumumba and two of his aides were shot in the forest under the command of Belgian officers. The facts only came to light thanks to investigations by the likes of Belgian sociologist and writer, Ludo De Witte, whose findings were detailed in his 2003 book, "The Assassination of Lumumba." Patrice Lumumba gives a press conference in Leopoldville in August 1960. He would be dead 5 months later at only 35. Image: AFP Another Belgian officer, Gerard Soete, sawed the bodies in pieces and dissolved them in sulfuric acid. Two teeth were all that remained of Lumumba. Soete kept them as a trophy. Juliana learned about this on television, in a 2000 report on a German broadcaster in which Soete himself recounted the details and held the teeth into the camera. This gruesome memory still angers Juliana. "How would you feel if they told you that your father was not only killed, buried, unburied, cut in pieces but they also took parts of his body?", she asks. "To many, he was the first prime minister of the Congo, a national hero. But for me, he's my father." Still fighting for the truth Years later, Juliana wrote a letter to the Belgian king demanding one of the teeth be returned. No one knows where the second one is. Soete had claimed that he had thrown it into the North Sea. He died shortly after, but later his daughter showed the golden tooth to a journalist. Ludo De Witte then sued her and Belgian authorities confiscated the remains. Lumumba's children at the ceremony in Brussels, receiving the last remains of their father Image: Nicolas Maeterlinck/Belga/AFP In 2022, then prime minister Alexander de Croo returned the tooth to Lumumba's children at a ceremony in Brussels and apologized – unlike King Philippe, a direct descendant of King Baudouin, who did not utter the word "sorry." He merely expressed his "deepest regrets" for the violence inflicted on the Congolese people under Belgian rule. But apologies are not the point for Juliana. "It's not a problem of apology. It's a problem of truth. Verité," she says. "I need to know the truth." Growing up in exile When her father was murdered, Juliana was just five years old. She learned of it while in exile in Egypt. A few months before Lumumba's assassination, she and her siblings were smuggled out of their house in Congo, where their father was placed under house arrest, and taken to Cairo with fake passports. Patrice Lumumba knew he was going to die, Juliana says. He also hinted at it in his last letter to his wife. In Cairo, Lumumba's children grew up with Mohamed Abdel Aziz Ishak, a diplomat and friend of Lumumba. But they couldn't escape their own history. "We are a political family," says Juliana. "We came to Egypt for political reasons, hosted by President Nasser. Politics is the core of our lives, whether we like it or not." The children also entered politics. Juliana held various ministerial posts, and her brother Francois is the leader of the Congolese National Movement, the party his father founded. In 2022, Patrice Lumumba was finally laid to rest in a ceremony in Kinshasa Image: Samy Ntumba Shambuyi/AP Photo/picture alliance Juliana says that she always knew that her father's assassination was political, even when she was still a child in Cairo. The news of Lumumba's death in 1961 spread quickly in the city. "They set fire to the library of the American university and looted the Belgian embassy," she recalls. "People in the streets shouted 'Lumumba, Lumumba.'" Guilt, accountability and colonial continuities It wasn't until 1994, when Congo's Mobutu dictatorship was on the verge of collapse, that Juliana returned to her homeland after years in exile. This had been her father's wish. "He told us, no matter what happens, you have to come back home. So, when it was safe for us again, we came back home, where we belong," she says. Today, Juliana is less active in Congolese politics. She doesn't want to talk about the current situation, the conflict between the Congolese army and the rebel militia M23, or the ongoing exploitation of natural resources by Western nations, China, Rwanda, and other foreign powers. Juliana Lumumba, the daughter of Patrice Lumumba, wants justice for her father. Image: privat Nor does she want to speak about the potential trial in Brussels of the last living suspect who might have been complicit in her father's killing, 92-year-old Etienne Davignon. A former top Belgian diplomat, businessman and former vice-president of the European Commission, Davignon is the last of 10 Belgians who were accused of involvement in the murder in the 2011 lawsuit filed by the Lumumba children. With little progress in over six decades, Juliana is losing hope that someone will finally face justice for her father's death. "No one has been held accountable. No Belgian, no European, no Congolese. No white, no Black. Everybody agrees that there was an assassination. There is a crime. But nobody has done it," she says. On July 2, 2025, Patrice Lumumba would have been 100 years old. Edited by Stuart Braun
DW
2 days ago
- Politics
- DW
Who killed Patrice Lumumba? – DW – 06/18/2025
For Juliana Lumumba, he was not just a politician: Patrice Lumumba was her father. That's why she continues to demand the truth about an assassination for which no one has faced justice. For more than 60 years, Juliana Lumumba has had questions. Who murdered her father? How did the Americans help? What did the United Nations do? Did they stand by idly, even though he was under their protection? They are uncomfortable questions, political questions. And Juliana will not rest until she has answers. "You cannot be the child of Patrice Lumumba without this impacting your life" she says. Her gaze is composed as she looks out of the window of her house in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lumumba murder case could go to trial On June 17, the Belgian federal prosecutor's office announced that it has requested that the case in connection with the assassination of Juliana's father be referred to a Brussels criminal court. It follows more than a decade of investigation. On Congo's independence day in 1960, Patrice Lumumba spoke about the atrocities inflicted on Congolese people under Belgian colonial rule, angering King Baudouin (in white) Image: Belga/IMAGO The Belgiumstate is partly responsible for the murder. A 2001 parliamentary investigation established that King Baudouin, the then Belgian monarch, knew about the assassination plan but did nothing to stop it. Juliana's brother François, the plaintiff in a 2011 complaint, accused the Belgian state of war crimes and torture, and of having been part of a conspiracy aimed at the political and physical elimination of his father. Lumumba fought for the Congo's independence On June 30, 1960, Patrice Lumumba freed the Congo from Belgian colonial rule and became the country's first prime minister. He promised democracy, prosperity and an end to the exploitation of Congolese minerals by foreign powers. But that never happened. The West – in particular Belgium and the USA — were not fond of Lumumba's plans to nationalize Congo's raw materials. And certainly not of him cozying up with the Soviet Union in the midst of the Cold War. On January 17, 1961, half a year after Lumumba was elected the first prime minister of a free Congo, Congolese separatists took him to the hostile province of Katanga – with Belgian and American blessing. Lumumba and two of his aides were shot in the forest under the command of Belgian officers. The facts only came to light thanks to investigations by the likes of Belgian sociologist and writer, Ludo De Witte, whose findings were detailed in the 2003 book, "The Assassination of Lumumba." Patrice Lumumba gives a press conference in Leopoldville in August 1960. He would dead 5 months later. Image: AFP Another Belgian officer, Gérard Soete, sawed the bodies in pieces and dissolved them in sulfuric acid. Two teeth were all that remained of Lumumba. Soete kept them as a trophy. Juliana learned about this on television, in a 2000 report on a German broadcaster in which Soete himself recounted the details and held the teeth into the camera. This gruesome memory still angers Juliana. "How would you feel if they told you that your father was not only killed, buried, unburied, cut in pieces but they also took parts of his body?", she asks. "To many, he was the first prime minister of the Congo, a national hero. But for me, he's my father." Still fighting for the truth Years later, Juliana wrote a letter to the Belgian king demanding one of the teeth be returned. No one knows where the second one is. Soete had claimed that he had thrown it into the North Sea. He died shortly after, but later his daughter showed the golden tooth to a journalist. Ludo De Witte then sued her and Belgian authorities confiscated the remains. Lumumba's children at the ceremony in Brussels, receiving the last remains of their father Image: Nicolas Maeterlinck/Belga/AFP In 2022, then prime minister Alexander de Croo returned the tooth to Lumumba's children at a ceremony in Brussels and apologized – unlike King Philippe, a direct descendant of King Baudouin, who apparently could not utter the word "sorry." He merely expressed his "deepest regrets" for the violence inflicted on the Congolese people under Belgian rule. But apologies are not enough for Juliana. "It's not a problem of apology. It's a problem of truth. Verité," she says. "I need to know the truth." Growing up in exile When her father was murdered, Juliana was just five years old. She learned of it while in exile in Egypt. A few months before Lumumba's assassination, she and her siblings were smuggled out of their house in Congo, where their father was placed under house arrest, and taken to Cairo with fake passports. Patrice Lumumba knew he was going to die, Juliana says. He also hinted at it in his last letter to his wife. In Cairo, Lumumba's children grew up with Mohamed Abdel Aziz Ishak, a diplomat and friend of Lumumba. But they couldn't escape their own history. "We are a political family, says Juliana. "We came to Egypt for political reasons, hosted by President Nasser. Politics is the core of our lives, whether we like it or not." The children also entered politics. Juliana held various ministerial posts, and her brother François is the leader of the Congolese National Movement, the party his father founded. In 2022, Patrice Lumumba was finally laid to rest in a ceremony in Kinshasa Image: Samy Ntumba Shambuyi/AP Photo/picture alliance Juliana says that she always knew that her father's assassination was political, even when she was still a child in Cairo. The news of Lumumba's death in 1961 spread quickly in the city. "They set fire to the library of the American university and looted the Belgian embassy," she recalls. "People in the streets shouted 'Lumumba, Lumumba.'" Guilt, accountability and colonial continuities It wasn't until 1994, when Congo's Mobutu dictatorship was on the verge of collapse, that Juliana returned to her homeland after years in exile. This had been her father's wish. "He told us, no matter what happens, you have to come back home. So, when it was safe for us again, we came back home, where we belong," she says. Today, Juliana is less active in Congolese politics. She doesn't want to talk about the current situation, the conflict between the Congolese army and the rebel militia M23, or the ongoing exploitation of natural resources by the Western nations, China, Rwanda, and other foreign powers. Juliana Lumumba, the daughter of Patrice Lumumba, in her home in Kinshasa Image: privat Nor does she want to speak about the potential trial in Brussels of the last living suspect who might have been complicit in her father's killing, 92-year-old Etienne Davignon. A former top Belgian diplomat, businessman and former vice-president of the European Commission, Davignon is the last of 10 Belgians who were accused of involvement in the murder in the 2011 lawsuit filed by the Lumumba children. With little progress in over six decades, Juliana is losing hope that someone will finally face justice for her father's death. "No one has been held accountable. No Belgian, no European, no Congolese. No white, no Black. Everybody agrees that there was an assassination. There is a crime. But nobody has done it," she says. On July 2, 2025, Patrice Lumumba would have been 100 years old. Edited by Stuart Braun
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Man Utd on verge of huge second summer deal with Brentford star keen
Man Utd Close In On Second Major Summer Signing As Mbeumo Edges Towards Old Trafford United Step Up Attack Rebuild With Mbeumo Talks Progressing Manchester United's summer rebuild under Ruben Amorim appears to be gathering momentum. Following the confirmed signing of Matheus Cunha from Wolves in a £62.5 million deal, reports from TeamTalk, credited to transfer insider Rudy Galetti, now suggest the club is nearing an agreement with Brentford for Bryan Mbeumo. Advertisement United's interest in the 25-year-old forward has been no secret. Mbeumo, fresh off a breakout Premier League campaign where he scored 20 goals and laid on seven assists, has been attracting interest from a number of top-flight rivals, including Tottenham, Arsenal and Newcastle. Yet it is the Old Trafford hierarchy who have acted most decisively. Photo: IMAGO According to Galetti's latest update on X, 'positive contacts' have been held between United and Brentford. 'The gap on fixed fee is narrowing: just a few million left. Personal terms have already been agreed, as revealed days ago: to date, Bryan only wants MUFC – no interest in other clubs.' Price Tag Narrowing As Brentford Hold Firm United initially lodged a bid worth up to £55 million, which Brentford swiftly rejected. The West London club, aware of Mbeumo's rising stock and still recalibrating after the departure of Thomas Frank to Spurs, have been reluctant to lose their talisman without receiving maximum value. Advertisement With negotiations now described as 'positive' and only a small margin separating the two clubs, it appears a deal could be concluded in the coming days. Personal terms have reportedly been settled for some time, and Mbeumo's desire to join United has been unwavering throughout the process. Photo: IMAGO TEAMtalk reports that Mbeumo has had only one destination in mind, even as other suitors circled. His clarity of intent, combined with United's sustained pursuit, appears to be paying off. Mbeumo's Mentality Signals He Is Ready Mbeumo has long demonstrated a maturity beyond his years, both on and off the pitch. Speaking recently on The Obi One Podcast hosted by former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel, the Brentford forward addressed the psychological demands of playing at the highest level. Advertisement 'I think this is something we can always do. But you need a lot of resilience because you can say, 'I want to be there' but if you don't do [enough] you won't be able to achieve what you really want,' he said. When pressed about playing for a club of United's magnitude, Mbeumo did not shy away. 'I always wanted to play the biggest game[s] for the biggest club when I was younger. It's easy to say that I want to be there but obviously you need to put a lot of demand on yourself and I've shown what I'm capable of.' Cunha Partnership Offers Intriguing Potential With Matheus Cunha already signed, the potential of pairing him with Mbeumo offers an exciting prospect for Amorim as he begins to shape a new-look United front line. The club is clearly targeting forwards who offer dynamism, versatility and work rate, traits both Cunha and Mbeumo possess in abundance. Photo: IMAGO Advertisement Should the deal go through, it would not only be a statement of intent from United but a key part of Amorim's early strategy to build a more fluid, aggressive attacking unit for the 2025/26 campaign. Our View – EPL Index Analysis Mbeumo is not just a name with hype, he's delivered 20 goals and 7 assists in a Brentford team that finished mid-table tells you he's doing more than just standing out, he's leading. His pace, composure, and ability to operate across the front line make him a perfect modern forward. What's most exciting is his mindset. Listening to him speak, he sounds like someone hungry for the next level. He's not dazzled by the badge – he's motivated by the challenge. That's the type of player you want in a dressing room that needs a reboot. Advertisement United fans will also be pleased to see business done early. After years of dragging out deals and settling for Plan B options, getting Cunha in and now moving swiftly for Mbeumo suggests there's a clear strategy under Amorim. Pairing those two with Bruno Fernandes behind? That's a front three with movement, intelligence and end product. If United can get this one over the line, there's a sense the rebuild might finally be on the right track.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wirtz Signing Set to Redefine Liverpool's Midfield and Attack
Liverpool and Wirtz: A New Era Begins Under Arne Slot When a club with Liverpool's heritage breaks the British transfer record, expectations are not merely high, they are stratospheric. Florian Wirtz, the German prodigy who dazzled under Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen, is about to become the heartbeat of Arne Slot's Anfield project. Advertisement Wirtz, who is expected to have his Liverpool medical on Friday, will arrive not just with a hefty price tag but also with the pressure of reinvention. He represents more than a marquee signing — he is Slot's vision incarnate, the creative axis around which this next evolution of Liverpool will revolve. Photo: IMAGO Slot has no interest in replicating the past. With Jürgen Klopp's era consigned to the history books, Slot is building something that feels tactically fluid, physically demanding and strategically modern. In Wirtz, he has the ideal cornerstone. Positional Fluidity and Tactical Balance Wirtz is a versatile attacking midfielder who primarily played as a left-sided No 10 under Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen. But he can also operate as a false nine or wide left. This blend of roles gives Slot myriad options, and that is crucial at a time when Liverpool are recalibrating their shape and balance. Advertisement In short, he provides Slot with plenty of options. But his versatility also raises immediate questions. Where will he fit in? What does his arrival mean for the rest of Liverpool's attacking and midfield structure? Photo: IMAGO Wirtz is a No 10. So, logically, that's where he will play… right? Most likely, but it is not as simple as upgrading on a like-for-like player who operates in that position. The man who fulfilled that role for Liverpool last season, Dominik Szoboszlai, is a different stylistic profile to Wirtz and that is likely to have tactical implications. Szoboszlai functioned as a high-octane presser, combining tireless off-ball work with surging runs beyond the back line and some creative output. His numbers — eight goals and nine assists in 49 appearances — were respectable but left room for more. Advertisement Wirtz would be expected to improve on that. And this is where the nuance lies. While Szoboszlai thrived on vertical energy and pressure, Wirtz is Liverpool's creative fulcrum following Trent Alexander-Arnold's departure. That necessitates freedom, not just effort. He needs to operate in pockets, to conduct the tempo, to find space between lines and hurt teams with vision, not just running. Among last season's Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A players, only Manchester City's Jeremy Doku attempted more passes within the attacking third than Wirtz's 32.4 per 90 minutes. Implications for Szoboszlai, Jones and Elliott If Slot makes Wirtz the main man at No 10, then Szoboszlai could drop deeper, perhaps rotating with Alexis Mac Allister in the No 8 role. It is a tactical shift that could work, particularly given Szoboszlai's encouraging performance in that role against Brighton near the season's end. Advertisement Curtis Jones, however, might be the player who suffers most. Once Slot's fourth-choice midfielder, his ability to cover multiple roles has worked against him, and if Szoboszlai slots into a deeper berth, Jones may find minutes hard to come by. Photo IMAGO Harvey Elliott's tone when speaking about his future has changed in the final months of the season, and the move for Wirtz just underlined that he seemingly has no future at the club. Having been restricted to cup starts and cameos, the attacker's arrival would limit his opportunities further. There's a physical edge that Slot clearly values, and Wirtz represents a middle ground. More technical than Szoboszlai, more physically complete than Elliott. A hybrid playmaker, combining vision, work rate and resilience. False Nine Role Could Define Liverpool's Shape Referring back to the jigsaw puzzle, a Darwin Nunez exit and no striker incoming makes Wirtz playing as a false nine more probable. Slot largely played with a central striker last season but occasionally adopted a 4-2-4 system involving two attacking midfielders through the middle, as Jones partnered Szoboszlai at the top end of the pitch — most notably in December's 2-0 victory against Manchester City. Advertisement Slot lavished praise on Paris Saint-Germain — who also opted not to start with a recognised No 9 — following their Champions League meeting with Liverpool, and the French club ultimately won that competition. When Luis Diaz led the line for Liverpool, the setup was similar, with the 28-year-old dropping deeper into pockets of space alongside Szoboszlai. December's 6-3 victory over Tottenham was the system at its most effective, and the Colombian became the preferred option when everyone was fit, hinting at a change in Slot's thoughts on that role. Wirtz would have to adjust to not having a central No 9 ahead of him, but his football intelligence, decision-making and speed of thought shouldn't make trying to find his wide attackers making out-to-in runs with precise passes a problem. Diogo Jota's minutes would take a hit should Wirtz cement his place there, while Diaz would return to primarily competing for the starting left wing role with Cody Gakpo. Advertisement If Slot wants to retain Szoboszlai's strongest traits and not be forced into a more significant tactical shift, then the 4-2-4 should appeal. It will also provide a strong midfield square of technical quality in the centre of the pitch. The aim should be to provide Wirtz with as much freedom as possible to roam and impact the game. Playing as a false nine or as a second No 10, alongside Szoboszlai, may offer exactly that. Creative Width and Left-Flank Questions Diaz and Gakpo were Slot's senior options on the left flank last season. Both have been linked with moves away from Anfield already this summer, with the former once again subject to interest from Barcelona and teams in Saudi Arabia, while the latter has been tentatively linked to Bayern Munich. Advertisement Slot rotated the pair at the beginning of last season, before he moved Diaz centrally following an injury to Jota. It allowed Gakpo to excel in the left-wing role, finishing the season as Liverpool's second-highest scorer with 18, while Diaz became Slot's preferred No 9 option for a large portion of the campaign. If both stay, the expectation would be that Slot continues to primarily use them in rotation on the left. That would be even more likely should a new No 9 also arrive, although it opens up the possibility of Wirtz playing off the left and drifting inside with a left-back — probably Kerkez — providing the width. Liverpool's business will not end following Wirtz's signature, take the expected arrival of Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez. Advertisement This means that we may not know exactly how many missing pieces are in the jigsaw until later in the window. But while Wirtz's potential role on the left is intriguing, it also runs the risk of neutralising his best qualities. With Wirtz becoming the creative mainstay, it makes less sense for him to take up one of those wide roles — although Salah proved it was possible to provide a huge danger to the opposition playing out wide during his record-equalling campaign. Instead, pulling the strings centrally while also carrying a goal threat seems the clear solution, whether that's as the No 9 or No 10. Vision of a Fluid and Ruthless Liverpool Wirtz is going to be Liverpool's creative fulcrum following Trent Alexander-Arnold's departure, and that means enabling him to find space and dictate tempo without too many defensive responsibilities dragging him away from the areas where he flourishes. Advertisement Should Jeremie Frimpong win the battle with Conor Bradley to be Liverpool's starting right-back, that would mean three players on that right side who all do their best work in the final third. Salah, Wirtz and Frimpong are a scary proposition for any opposition defence, but it might lead to an increased workload for Ryan Gravenberch and Ibrahima Konate in transition. Wirtz notably played as a left-sided No 10 for Leverkusen, drifting inside to wreak havoc with his right foot. Slot could switch the positions of the No 9 and No 10, like he did in the 3-0 victory over Manchester United last September, but the void behind Salah would still need covering, potentially placing more responsibility on Gravenberch. Liverpool's attack is shifting towards movement, intelligence and unpredictability. With Wirtz, they have a player who can read the game three seconds ahead of everyone else. The jigsaw is not complete, but its centrepiece is now in place.
