Photo by Michaela STACHE / AFP via Getty Images
Photo by Michaela STACHE / AFP via Getty Images
Florian Wirtz’s first taste of action under Jurgen Klopp did not go to plan on Sunday as Germany were beaten 1-0 by Greece.
With Wirtz struggling to put any kind of form together for Liverpool, there has been hope among supporters that their former boss can bring his confidence back while managing him for the national team. Klopp defended Wirtz in the build-up to the September internationals, claiming that his time with the Reds has been a case of poor timing, with his arrival coinciding with the tragic death of Diogo Jota and a terrible run of form for Liverpool.
Reds legend Steve Nicol is not buying it, though, and as patience in Wirtz begins to wear thin, the former full-back has claimed that the 23-year-old should be able to perform even if the team around him are failing to hit the heights expected of them.
Nicol is fed up of Wirtz excuses
Wirtz only played 25 minutes of Germany’s surprise defeat on Sunday, but the fact that he was unable to inspire Klopp‘s team while coming on with the score at 0-0 will do nothing to quieten the noise growing around him.
Nicol has been a critic of Wirtz for quite some time, and after witnessing his performance against Greece, he once again took aim, lamenting the Liverpool man’s apparent inability to do the basics right.
“Klopp’s saying nice things because he’s going to be his player at Germany, so he’s going to stick up for him,” he told ESPN FC, when asked if the legendary former Reds manager is right to point out that Wirtz joined Liverpool at a difficult time.
“The one thing I’ve had enough of, and Jurgen said it, [is that] when a team struggles, a player like Wirtz struggles. That doesn’t mean that Florian Wirtz can get away with passing the ball to the opposition. That’s about as basic as I can put it. Because that’s what he’s doing.”
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“It’s one thing that the team’s struggling as a whole, but that doesn’t mean that Wirtz can’t get ahold of himself and do the basics properly, because he’s not doing the basics properly.
“Really, you can look at the rest of the team and say whatever you want about them, but the bottom line is, whether the team around him is playing great or poor, if he can’t get the basics right, and I’m talking about passing to somebody on his own team, then you can’t be going blaming anybody but himself. That’s what his problem is. His basics are all wrong.”
What is the biggest worry about Wirtz?
Although it is nothing new that Wirtz is struggling to make an impact at Liverpool, the reason this story is so prominent right now is because while previously the No. 7 was being given time to bed in and get it right, there is now a concern that he is just not going to get better at all.
Nicol certainly thinks that that could be true, and cited his ‘biggest worry’ about Wirtz as being that players from the Bundesliga who have found it hard to adapt to English football do not magically get better.
“The worrying thing would be that there have been quite a few over the last few years who have come from the Bundesliga and really struggled in the Premier League,” he said.
“He’s just another one, and unfortunately Liverpool paid, what, 130 million, for a guy who’s got no goals and one assist. That’s just not good enough. It really has got to the point of where it’s crunch time, otherwise he’s going to have to sit on the bench, it’s just that straightforward.”
Photo By Stefano Spaziani/Europa Press via Getty Images
Photo By Stefano Spaziani/Europa Press via Getty Images
A graphic that reads: "Alexander Isak is to return to Liverpool from international duty due to a minor injury." Image shows Alexander Isak playing for Sweden.
Credit: Photo by Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP via Getty Images
Photo by Dijks Media/MB Media/Getty Images
Photo by Dijks Media/MB Media/Getty Images