Florian Wirtz has not yet found his feet at Liverpool following his costly summer transfer and former Everton defender Joleon Lescott has shared his thoughts on the German
Joleon Lescott speaks on In The Mixer
Joleon Lescott thinks Liverpool would happily take a refund for Florian Wirtz
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Ex-Everton star Joleon Lescott reckons Liverpool would jump at the chance of a refund on Florian Wirtz if it were possible. The German ace joined the Reds in the summer for a staggering £116million.
Despite showing potential in the Community Shield, Wirtz's Premier League performances have been somewhat lacklustre. The 22-year-old has yet to net a goal or set up a team-mate in the top flight.
Lescott, who played for the Toffees nearly 150 times, believes that while it's premature to fully assess Wirtz, Liverpool would soon gladly take their cash back from Bayer Leverkusen if such an offer was hypothetically available, pointing to Arne Slot's decision to take him off in the dying embers of last month's 1-0 victory at Burnley before Mohamed Salah's winning penalty.
"Listen, we can't judge him solely on the games that he's played in, but he should have had an impact on one of those games. And for me, it was the Burnley game.
"I'm like, if you're an attacking player, forget the fee and we need a goal, I shouldn't be taking you off. You should be the guy that then hopefully creates the opportunity.
"I think I should have seen something that would make me go, 'Right, good, I'm gonna see that again.' Just like a moment in a game. I would have liked to have seen that by now and know that it was coming. There haven't been enough of them moments yet."
Despite not finding the back of the net, Wirtz has been creating opportunities this season. Slot continues to show faith in him, starting him regularly, and he's also got the support of a former Liverpool manager.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot (left) and Florian Wirtz (right)
Wirtz has failed to impress at Anfield so far
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Jurgen Klopp believes the discussion around his compatriot is overblown and is confident he will soon silence his critics. Klopp stated: "I don't have to worry about Florian Wirtz because his quality is so outstanding.
"Of course, everything is fine, and everyone knows that. The discussion is certainly being blown out of proportion. Liverpool have just lost three games in a row – it's unusual for something like that to happen after such a long time. But it's also normal in life.
"That's why these things are discussed. I've been in the middle of such discussions long enough now, and I can tell you: nothing could interest people less than the public discussions that are taking place there. So it doesn't matter, and everything will be fine.
"[Wirtz has] a stable environment at Liverpool, and the club is great in moments like these. If anyone's worried, you don't have to! You can stop."
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