Florian Wirtz has endured a slow start to life at Liverpool – since joining the Reds for big money from Bayer Leverkusen – and his dad has now jumped to his defence amid criticism from Arsene Wenger
Florian Wirtz is “perfectly happy” with his start to life at Liverpool – according to his Dad. The Germany playmaker joined the Reds in a £116m switch from Bayer Leverkusen this summer.
But he hasn’t quite hit the heights expected of him at Anfield so far. Wirtz has three assists in 15 appearances in all competitions but has yet to contribute to a goal in Premier League action.
Despite that, Wirtz and his parents are optimistic about the playmaker getting up to speed sooner rather than later. Speaking to Bild, Hans Wirtz said: “My thought from the very beginning was to wait and see how the first ten league games went.
“We and Florian are perfectly happy with that. The incredible speed, the back and forth, that was very impressive for the first few games.
“The distances covered and the speed were significantly greater. The style of play is sometimes enormously different because it doesn’t seem as organised, but rather more focused on pace.”
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Wirtz’s slow start to the season has coincided with Liverpool‘s own, the Reds having had a disappointing start to the campaign. But his dad believes both will improve and return to their true form.
“I think the league table clearly shows that there’s still room for improvement in this football machine,” he added.
“But the mechanics will sort that out. I hope he’s such a good player that he can adapt to the demands there and that he enjoys it just as much as he did in the Bundesliga.”
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And while Wirtz senior remains convinced, former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is not quite of the same opinion. The Frenchman recently tore into the Liverpool star, claiming he has had a negative impact on the side.
Speaking ahead of their clash vs Real Madrid, he said: “They started him and they destroyed their midfield – which was (Ryan) Gravenberch, (Alexis) Mac Allister, (Dominik) Szoboszlai. To play Wirtz, they took Szoboszlai out. What have they done against Aston Villa? They have gone back to their midfield of last year. And tonight, they play Wirtz – but I’m sure that Wirtz will play on the side.
“The manager has said: ‘If you want to play again, you will have to play wide because I do not want to disturb the midfield.’ That will be interesting to see tonight. Wirtz is back in the team but certainly will have to play left where he was when he played at Leverkusen.”
Wirtz will be aiming to prove his doubters wrong this weekend as Arne Slot‘s side take on Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.
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