Coutinho's career reached it's peak as a Liverpool player and Heskey can see Wirtz making a similar impact with the Reds.
He told Tribalfootball.com: "He is the sort of player Liverpool need in this system, as next season teams will start sitting deeper against them and hope to score on the break. So Wirtz will be a fantastic addition as he can pick up the ball and create chances from tight spaces.
"He reminds me a lot of Philippe Coutinho, who had a lot of success at Liverpool, and the fans loved him.
“Liverpool need players like that who can create something unbelievable or dribble past a few players with ease to open up attacking spaces for the forwards. I think he will be a success.”
Asked about the fee - which could reach £125m - Liverpool will pay Bayer Leverkusen for the Germany international, Heskey insists it will be money well spent.
He also said: "I’m not surprised Liverpool have spent the money on Florian Wirtz because he looks like a fantastic talent, but the risk with big money signings from abroad is always whether they can adapt to the Premier League. We have seen a player like Darwin Núñez look fantastic in Portugal and the Champions League and completely flop in England."
Elliott needs to leave
Meanwhile, Heskey believes Harvey Elliott needs to cut ties with Liverpool if he wants regular football.
The midfielder has expressed frustration after a limited role last season, admitting he will consider his options over the summer.
And Heskey said: “Unfortunately, if Harvey Elliott is looking for regular football, then it looks like he will have to leave Liverpool, whether that be on loan or permanently.
"He’s a brilliant player, he has been fantastic when called upon this season, but it looks like his gametime will be reduced next year. When you are young, you are just keen to play, and that’s what I’d advise him to do.
“He’ll be frustrated he can’t break into the first team regularly and wants to fight for his spot, but he’ll know leaving is the right option. I’m sure plenty of teams will be after him as he’s a clever player, a hard worker, and can bring something different to plenty of Premier League teams. But he’ll need to build some confidence, whether it is on loan or permanently, I expect he will leave Liverpool before the end of the summer.”
- Emile Heskey was speaking to Tribalfootball.com on behalf of VBET