Jurgen Klopp has leapt to the defence of under-fire Liverpool signing Florian Wirtz, hailing him as a ‘once in a century talent’. The 22 year old made a record-breaking £116million move from Bayer Leverkusen to Anfield over the summer.
However, Wirtz’s start at Liverpool has been less than stellar, failing to score or assist in his first seven Premier League outings. He was benched by Arne Slot for the Reds’ latest match, a 2-1 loss to Chelsea, only making an appearance as a second-half substitute.
The German international’s performances have drawn criticism from some fans and pundits alike, but ex-Liverpool boss Klopp remains confident that his fellow countryman will soon find his feet at Anfield. While attending a padel tournament in Mallorca, Klopp told RTL and n-tv (as reported by Goal): “I don’t have to worry about Florian Wirtz because his quality is so outstanding. Of course, everything is fine, and everyone knows that. The discussion is certainly being blown out of proportion.
“Liverpool have just lost three games in a row – it’s unusual for something like that to happen after such a long time. But it’s also normal in life. That’s why these things are discussed.
“I’ve been in the middle of such discussions long enough now, and I can tell you: nothing could interest people less than the public discussions that are taking place there. So it doesn’t matter, and everything will be fine.”
Liverpool won their first six fixtures of the campaign but delivered a series of lacklustre displays and have subsequently endured consecutive late Premier League setbacks against Crystal Palace and Chelsea, sandwiched around a Champions League loss to Galatasaray.
Wirtz’s form continues to spark debate, yet Klopp maintains unwavering confidence that the German star will rediscover his peak level imminently, branding him “a once-in-a-century talent, and at some point he’ll show that in every game again, as he did at Leverkusen”.
Klopp continued: “[Wirtz has] a stable environment at Liverpool, and the club is great in moments like these. If anyone’s worried, you don’t have to! You can stop.”
The Reds resume Premier League duties on Sunday, October 19 when they welcome arch-rivals Manchester United to Anfield.
