Former Premier League star Markus Babbel has hailed Florian Wirtz as the standout signing of the summer, despite the hefty sum required to snatch him from Bayer Leverkusen. Liverpool caused a stir across the Premier League and Europe by securing the sought-after German prodigy. Manchester United's rivals have made several signings in the transfer window after winning their 20th top-flight title. However, Wirtz is by far the most high-profile deal, completing a move worth up to £116million. After extensive speculation and edging out competition from Manchester City , Liverpool snapped up Wirtz last month in a move that could set a new British transfer record. Former Liverpool and Germany defender Babbel believes that the club have not overpaid for Wirtz and argued that his opinion would be the same if he had joined United. "Florian Wirtz is easily the best signing of the summer transfer window so far," Babbel told Gameshub . "That was the deal of the year in my opinion and that isn't just because the Premier League champions signed him; if Man United had made the deal, it would be no different – he's a fantastic player that will add so much value to the team. "No one was talking about Liverpool getting the deal done either! Everyone assumed he'd join Bayern Munich, Man City or Real Madrid. But it was always clear to me from the start that he'd be heading to Liverpool to play under Arne Slot and alongside some of the best players in Europe, such as Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah. "I would be surprised if a club managed to pull off a signing as good as Wirtz to Liverpool. For me, there's no doubt that he's the best signing of the window." United have signed Matheus Cunha for £62.5m as part of their rebuild this summer and the club are pursuing a deal for Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo . In addition, teenage prospects Diego Leon and Enzo Kana-Biyik have also joined the club. However, United fans will hope that Wirtz's ambitions at Liverpool fall flat. During his five-year stint at Leverkusen, Wirtz emerged as one of the world's leading talents, prompting the substantial fee Liverpool paid for him. Following his introduction as Liverpool's most expensive signing, Wirtz shared his aspirations: "I would like to win everything every year. "In the end, we want to be successful. Last season they won the Premier League so my goal is for sure to win it again and also to go further in the Champions League . I'm really ambitious." Wirtz described his decision to join Liverpool as the "next step" in his career trajectory, expressing his enthusiasm for the new challenge: "I'm really excited to have a new adventure in front of me. This was also a big point of my thoughts. "I want to have something completely new, to go out of the Bundesliga and to join the Premier League. I will see how I can perform there. I hope I can do my best. "I just thought that it was the right point in my career to make the next step and of course I wanted to get to a club that is from the top three in the world. In my opinion, Liverpool is one of them. I just saw myself in the best hands in Liverpool."