Florian Wirtz has endured a difficult start to life in the Premier League, failing to register a single goal or assist in his 11 appearances to date.
The Germany international, signed by Liverpool for a huge £116 million from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, has fared better in the Champions League, but so far the consensus is that he has thoroughly underwhelmed.
There was major criticism after a largely anonymous display in Liverpool’s recent 3-0 defeat to Manchester City, and pressure is growing on the 22-year-old to make an impact.
Florian Wirtz may tell Liverpool, “I don’t think this is the kind of football I envision”
Patience was always likely to be limited for a player who arrived with so much expectation, though Wirtz is hardly the first big-name player to make a slow start in England’s top flight.
Still, there have been plenty of big statements made about Wirtz’s Liverpool prospects following another unimpressive performance.
Amongst the most notable was from Bild journalist Marcel Reif, who suggested the Liverpool attacking midfielder could already be considering his future.
“The expectations from the outside are so high because everyone says: ‘Look, there’s the wonderkid for €125m. Come on, kid, show us what you’ve got,’” he said.
“Currently, he’s obviously one of the main figures in what Liverpool are delivering, or rather, not delivering. The moment may come when he says: ‘I don’t think this is the kind of football I envision.’”
There has been debate about Wirtz’s best position at Liverpool, with manager Arne Slot utilising him both centrally and on the left.
Responding to claims about Wirtz’s arrival potentially disrupting the team’s midfield, Slot said: “We have five or six very good midfielders who can all play together but they need to play more together to get the best out of every single player. Florian needs time to adapt to his team-mates, and team-mates need time to adapt to him.
“Now he played off the left, but I can tell you, if it is not now, it is tomorrow, he will have great performances as a midfielder for Liverpool as well.
“He definitely has the talent for it, but it’s not only about one player. It’s also about the team you are playing in. What I can say about Florian is that since Xabi Alonso came in [at Leverkusen] he was mainly used in a 3-4-3 system as an inverted winger, where before that he mainly played as a no.10. In the national team he plays as an inverted winger as well.
“For me the only challenge I have is making sure he gets in those positions, as an inverted winger or as a no.10, in and around the 18-yard box where his teammates need to find him with the right timing, because then he will always produce special things. He does this for the national team, he did it for Leverkusen and he’s already done that for us as well.”
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