Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has issued a strong message for the Anfield faithful in regards to summer recruit, Florian Wirtz. The German attacker has had a slow start to life in England and is yet to provide a goal or assist for his new teammates.
The Reds spent as much as £116 million to secure the services of Florian Wirtz, seeing him join from German giants Bayer Leverkusen. Coming in at an extravagant price has certainly not helped Wirtz’s case, who has been subject to intense media scrutiny owing to a lack of contributions in front of goal.
The attacking midfielder enjoyed five sensational years in the Bundesliga before he arrived at Anfield Stadium this summer, setting the bar high for himself. However, his performances have not yet displayed his true potential, much to the disappointment of supporters.
Why is the spotlight on Wirtz?
With zero assists or goals in the Premier League or UEFA Champions League, Wirtz has drawn criticism considering the large chunk of money Liverpool parted ways with in order to secure the services of the German. We analysed Wirtz’s first 7 Premier League games and despite some good performances the bottom line is as mentioned he remains goal-less and without any assists thus far. Other summer signings who arrived with Wirtz have at least given a glimpse of their potential to the Reds’ supporters.
Additionally, Liverpool’s poor run of form in recent fixtures with three defeats at the hands of Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Galatasaray, have also made matters worse for the German international. The cracks in the Liverpool team have started to emerge after a spotless start to the season. Slot’s men have also allowed Arsenal to overtake them in the points tally of the English top flight.
What is Klopp’s message for Liverpool supporters?
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, has come out in support of Florian Wirtz, stating that it is still early days in the season and only a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ Wirtz will score for the Reds. The victorious manager also stated that Liverpool’s 3 successive defeats in recent fixtures have suddenly drawn everyone’s attention towards the negatives instead of the positives from this season. Jurgen Klopp has been quoted as saying by German daily, Sport.de –
“His quality is so outstanding. The discussions are a bit exaggerated. Liverpool just lost three games in a row, which is unusual. But that’s also normal in life. And that’s why such things are discussed there. Now I’ve been in the middle of such discussions long enough and can say: nothing could interest people there less than the public discussions. [Wirtz is] a once-in-a-century talent, and at some point he’ll show that in every game again, just as he did at Leverkusen.”
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Klopp finished off by reminding the fans that Wirtz is a generational talent and he must be given sufficient time at Anfield Stadium to prove his mettle. The Liverpool faithful will be hoping that Wirtz takes to the field on Sunday this weekend with his scoring boots on against eternal rivals, Manchester United.
If Wirtz manages to break out of his slump against United it will certainly release the pressure as well as giving him belief and confidence as the new look Liverpool try to find their balance under Arne Slot.