Florian Wirtz was seen in high spirits as he joined the Germany squad on Monday, despite being benched during Liverpool’s recent match against Chelsea. The young playmaker was brought onto the pitch after half-time when Liverpool were trailing due to a goal from Moises Caicedo. He almost made an immediate impact with a clever flick to Mohamed Salah, but the Egyptian player missed the target with his weaker foot. Despite several impressive moments, Wirtz couldn’t help Liverpool break their losing streak.
Cody Gakpo managed to level the scores for Liverpool, but a last-minute goal from Estevao resulted in a third consecutive defeat for Arne Slot’s team. This loss also meant that they had to relinquish their top position in the Premier League table to Arsenal. Wirtz, who has now played seven Premier League games, is still waiting for his first goal or assist in England’s top-tier league. The ‘007’ memes continue to circulate as a result.
The international break might be a welcome respite for the 22-year-old. Germany will be hosting Luxembourg before heading to Northern Ireland for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
Several of the country’s footballing icons haverallied to support Wirtz as his sluggish beginning at Liverpool persists.
Germany’s sporting director Rudi Voller attributes Wirtz’s struggles at Anfield to adapting with his new colleagues, insisting he needs time to develop chemistry.
“The big difference is at Bayer Leverkusen, despite the individual quality of the other players, he was always looked for,” Voller told German media.
“Players like Granit Xhaka, Alejandro Grimaldo or Robert Andrich certainly ran the game, but the moment Florian made himself available, he always got the ball. Even as a young guy, he was already the chief.
“I deliberately watched some Liverpool games with him. He does an incredible amount of work, runs a lot, makes many sprints, and also goes deep.
“But he isn’t played to in the way he was used to at Leverkusen or with the national team. That’s something that has to be developed over weeks and months.”
German football icons Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lothar Matthaus have also voiced their confidence that Wirtz’s talent will eventually flourish at Liverpool, drawing from their own overseas experiences.
“We have to give the players a bit of time,” said Schweinsteiger during his induction into the German Football Hall of Fame in Dortmund.
“Especially when you move from the Bundesliga to the Premier League, you also have to adjust a bit. I’ve experienced that myself.
“He will enchant us all moving forward. He is a fantastic footballer, a great character. We should be happy that we have such a player in Germany.”
Matthaus, meanwhile, said: “That’s normal after such a big move abroad, but he’s a superb player, he will get used to the Premier League over time and be able to handle the even bigger pressure.
“I felt the same way at Inter Milan at the beginning. Andi Brehme, whose transfer was rather quiet, performed immediately at Inter.
“I had to get used to everything, partly due to the media hype and the higher transfer fee.”