Florian Wirtz will have a chance to build on his Germany performances when he returns to Liverpool duty
Jurgen Klopp with Florian Wirtz
Jurgen Klopp is working closely with Florian Wirtz in the Germany set-up(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
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Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp maintained he has never had any issue with Reds playmaker Florian Wirtz but has doubled down on his claim that the timing of the 23-year-old's move to Anfield may have worked against him.
Klopp is now managing the German national team and seeing the version of Wirtz that convinced Liverpool to part with what was at the time a club record fee to sign him from Bayer Leverkusen. The Reds star was involved in both goals as Die Mannschaft beat Serbia 2-0 on Thursday, laying on the opener for Tom Bischof and then scoring the second himself.
"I've had a great time with him, and I only know the one I know now; I didn't get a sense of the other one," Klopp said "He came to Liverpool at the worst possible moment. He's an incredible player who will come back. If he were out of form and people said, 'Play him anyway' – but he's in form."
Regarding those "worst possible moment" comments, Klopp previously spoke about the impact of Diogo Jota's death on the Liverpool squad as a whole. Wirtz arrived at Anfield less than a month after the Portugal international and his brother Andre Silva were killed in a car crash and the loss continues to be felt deeply on Merseyside.
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"Flo arrived in Liverpool at the worst possible moment," the manager said in September. "By that I do not mean that Liverpool won the title the year before but rather the tragic death of Diogo Jota.
"He came into a team with an incredible number of players for whom football, at that moment, had quite understandably dropped down the list of priorities. Then you come along as a new player and everyone immediately looks for someone to pull their chestnuts out of the fire. That is simply impossible."
Florian Wirtz scoring against Serbia
Wirtz scored Germany's second goal in their victory over Serbia(Image: Getty Images)
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Wirtz has gone through managerial changes at club and international level in the 15 months since he arrived at Anfield. Not only has Klopp replaced Julian Nagelsmann in the Germany dugout but Andoni Iraola has taken over from Arne Slot on Merseyside.
"The way we want to play suits Florian Wirtz," Klopp said. "I think everyone at Liverpool is very happy today. He is full of love for the game, and he has given everything he has."
During the current international break, the Germany boss said: "Everyone who loves football can still see what an exceptional player [Wirtz] is." The Serbia game was a first international start since a World Cup in which he produced three assists in four appearances but couldn't prevent Nagelsmann's side falling at the first knockout hurdle.
At club level, Wirtz has been a regular for Iraola's unbeaten side, though his only assist came for Victor Munoz's equaliser against Nottingham Forest. Liverpool have some big fixtures ahead of them in October, including two Champions League outings and a huge league meeting with leaders Manchester City.