Liverpool star Florian Wirtz has been issued a warning as the January transfer window approaches
Florian Wirtz of Liverpool
Florian Wirtz is yet to score his first goal for Liverpool(Image: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
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Former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann has given Florian Wirtz until Christmas to prove himself in a Reds shirt. Wirtz completed a move to Anfield during the summer transfer window following weeks of speculation.
Liverpool agreed a deal worth an initial £100million with Bayer Leverkusen for Wirtz, with add-ons taking the overall package of the transfer up to £116million.
Since signing for the reigning Premier League champions, Wirtz has struggled in front of goal and has only provided two assists, which both came in the same match in the Champions League (5-1 win vs Eintracht Frankfurt). Wirtz is also yet to score his first goal for the Reds, which has led to debate and criticism about his performances.
Wirtz has been sidelined with an injury for the last week, which has forced him to miss the recent defeats to Nottingham Forest and PSV Eindhoven. This weekend will see Liverpool take on West Ham in the Premier League, where it remains to be seen if Wirtz will make a return to the matchday squad.
Hamann is the latest pundit to be critical of Wirtz's form in a Liverpool shirt this season, with the Champions League winner stating why he wants to see improvement from the Reds No.7 by Christmas.
“Florian Wirtz has had chances to perform. He's had chances over the last six to eight weeks, where the team hasn't really fired since the start of the season," Hamann told CoinPoker.
“Even the games against Bournemouth, Newcastle, and Burnley were all games they probably didn't deserve to win, but they did, and he played in all of them. He's had the chance for the last three months to perform.
“What should make me believe he's going to do it now, because the team seems to be in disarray? It's not easy when you come in and there are cracks or problems within the team, and I don't know what it is or why it is.
“He doesn't look happy at the moment. He's a player who learned football on the streets, and that's how he played for Leverkusen, and this is why he was so natural, he always did the right thing.
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“Now he doesn't do that anymore, he thinks too much. I think he works too much going backwards, which credits and honours him because he wants to help the team. But obviously, he was brought in to affect games on the other side of the pitch, and he hasn't done it so far.
“Having said that, it might take a little bit of weight off his shoulders because people clearly saw this past weekend that he is not the problem. Despite that, so far he's been very disappointing.
“I think he's got until Christmas now to show his worth, which is not easy because, as I said, the team is not functioning at the moment. I think if he doesn't do it from now until Christmas, I'm pretty sure that the club will get together with him and see what the best would be for both parties.”
Whilst also setting a deadline for Wirtz's form to improve, Hamann also explained why an exit in the January transfer window cannot be ruled out. Hamann said: “Could Florian Wirtz still leave Liverpool on loan in January? Yeah.
"Obviously with all the help and all the protection from the club and the manager, if you bring somebody in for that amount of money, then maybe he should be the one, even though he's still very young, then maybe you expect him to turn things around."