Steven Gerrard was keen to highlight the recent performances of Florian Wirtz after Liverpool secured a big win against Sunderland on Wednesday evening.
The Reds legend was effusive in his praise of the German international, marvelling at his ability on the ball:
“[Wirtz’s] technical level, it is world-class. He’s got the world at his feet, and he’s so exciting to watch. In tight areas, his first touch is immaculate, his awareness is superb.”
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“I always watch players and think to myself: would I like to play with him? As a player, I would have loved to play with him. He’s always in space, he’s so clever in terms of where he receives the ball.”
Wirtz has come on leaps and bounds in recent weeks
Many were questioning the £100m+ fee that Liverpool shelled out on the 22-year-old after a tough first few months on Merseyside. He found the physicality and the pace of the Premier League difficult to handle.
However, slowly but surely, Wirtz has improved. His performance against Sunderland was probably not his best of the season, but he contributed both on and off the ball. If this game at the Stadium of Light had been played earlier in the campaign, he would probably have struggled to make an impact.
The Liverpool star’s stats since Christmas
After scoring his first goal for the Reds against Wolves on December 27th, Wirtz has found the back of the net 6 times in total, and contributed 2 assists.
The German is averaging a goal involvement every 1.38 games over the 11 matches since Christmas Day, which is a very impressive return.
It is a huge turnaround from his first four months at Anfield, where he had managed 0 goals and 5 assists across 22 appearances.
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