I have to say, I really like what Jürgen Klopp has said about Florian Wirtz.
Not because it suddenly makes Wirtz’s performances for Liverpool any better.
They don’t.
The German has struggled to find his best form since arriving at Anfield and, after more than a year at the club, supporters are entitled to expect much more from a player of his ability.
But Klopp has reminded us of something that is very easy to forget.
Wirtz didn’t exactly walk into normal circumstances at Liverpool.
Speaking about the midfielder, Klopp pointed towards the timing of his move and, most importantly, the tragic death of Diogo Jota.
“When you look at the overall context, Flo joined Liverpool at a very unfortunate time. It’s about the passing of Diogo Jota.”
And I think that’s an important point.
Wirtz arrived at the worst possible time
Imagine being a young player making one of the biggest moves of your career.
You’ve just left Bayer Leverkusen.
You’ve joined Liverpool for enormous money.
You’ve moved to England and into a completely different football environment.
You’re expected to immediately become one of the team’s most important attacking players.
And then, before you’ve even had the chance to properly settle in, something absolutely devastating happens.
Diogo Jota dies.
Liverpool’s players weren’t thinking about football.
They were dealing with grief.
Klopp put it very well.
“He joined a team with players whose priority was not football at that time, which is very understandable.”
That’s something I think Liverpool supporters need to remember.
I’m not saying Wirtz should be immune from criticism.
Far from it.
If anything, I have been frustrated by his performances myself.
There have been games where I’ve watched him and thought, where is the player we saw at Bayer Leverkusen?
But perhaps we have been expecting everything to click far too quickly.
And then came the change of manager
Wirtz’s first season at Liverpool wasn’t just about adapting to England.
It was also about adapting to a completely different tactical environment.
Now he’s working under Andoni Iraola.
And this season has not suddenly transformed Wirtz into the player Liverpool supporters expected to see.
But there have been signs.
He is getting into different positions.
He’s trying to become more involved.
And Iraola has spoken about wanting Wirtz to receive the ball in better areas and influence games further forward.
The problem is that attacking players don’t operate in isolation.
They need the team around them to function.
And Klopp made exactly that point.
“Attacking players always need a functioning team around them.”
That sentence stood out to me.
Because Liverpool are still trying to work out exactly what this team is under Iraola.
We’re seeing better defensive organisation.
We’re seeing some very encouraging performances from players such as Jérémy Jacquet and Ronald Araújo.
Alexander Isak is scoring goals.
Cody Gakpo is playing well.
But Liverpool’s attacking play still isn’t consistently clicking.
And if the team isn’t functioning properly, it becomes much harder for a player like Wirtz to shine.
Klopp still believes in him
This is probably the most important part of everything Klopp said.
He hasn’t suddenly decided Wirtz isn’t good enough.
Quite the opposite.
He still clearly believes there is an outstanding footballer in there.
“Everyone who loves football can still see what an outstanding player Flo Wirtz is,” Klopp said.
I agree with him.
That’s why this situation is so frustrating.
We have seen what Wirtz can do.
We saw it at Leverkusen.
We know the technique is there.
We know the vision is there.
We know the ability to receive the ball between the lines is there.
We know he can create chances and score goals.
The question isn’t whether Wirtz is talented.
It’s whether Liverpool can get that player out of him consistently.
And maybe that is going to take longer than any of us expected.
Maybe Klopp has given Liverpool a glimpse of what’s coming
There is another interesting part of Klopp’s comments.
He is currently responsible for helping Wirtz with Germany, and Klopp explained that their job during the international break is essentially to build the player back up.
Training.
Playing time.
Confidence.
A good feeling.
Then sending him back to Liverpool.
I actually love that approach.
Because Wirtz doesn’t need everyone telling him how much Liverpool paid for him.
He doesn’t need another debate about whether he has been a success or failure.
He needs to play football and enjoy himself again.
That’s when I think we’ll see the best of him.
And perhaps having Klopp around him could be particularly useful.
Let’s not forget what Klopp did with attacking players during his Liverpool career.
He understood how to create an environment where players could express themselves.
He understood confidence.
He understood momentum.
And, importantly, he knows Wirtz extremely well as a player.
I’m not giving up on Wirtz
I’ve been critical of Wirtz.
I’ll continue to be if I don’t think he’s playing well.
That’s part of being a supporter.
But I’m also not ready to write him off.
Not even close.
I think there’s a huge player in there.
And perhaps Klopp’s comments are a timely reminder that we haven’t necessarily seen the real Florian Wirtz at Liverpool yet.
He’s had a difficult first year.
He arrived at a club dealing with something no new signing should ever have to experience.
He was adapting to English football.
He was adapting to a new team.
Then the manager changed.
And now Iraola is trying to build something different.
That’s a lot.
So I’m going to give him time.
Not unlimited time, because Liverpool need their big players to perform.
But time.
Because imagine Wirtz finally clicks.
Imagine the confidence returns.
Imagine Liverpool’s attacking game starts functioning properly and Wirtz is suddenly receiving the ball in those dangerous areas we know he can exploit.
That could be some player.
And maybe that’s what Klopp is seeing.
Maybe he’s looking at the same Florian Wirtz we all watched at Bayer Leverkusen.
The difference is that Klopp has probably seen enough in football to know that sometimes you have to wait for the circumstances to be right.
So I’ll finish with Klopp’s words.
“I wish him all the best.”
So do I, Jürgen.
Because if Florian Wirtz finally finds his feet at Liverpool, we could be talking about a completely different player six months from now.
Jamie (The Kopite View)
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