Expectations were sky-high when Florian Wirtz moved to Liverpool for £116 million. Everyone tipped him to win the Ballon d’Or, but things started badly for him. The breaking point came after a painful 3-0 home loss to Manchester City on October 11. Wirtz played poorly again, forcing ex-captain Jamie Carragher to openly state that he should be benched.
Now, El Nacional claims Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola has lost patience and wants a €140 million bid for Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez, thinking the 23-year-old Olympic winner would shine in the Premier League. At the same time, people are saying Wirtz could head to Bayern, Dortmund, Chelsea, Newcastle, or Al Hilal.
Just as the transfer rumors linking López to Liverpool hit an all-time high, Wirtz has completely turned the tide in his favor at Anfield. The 23-year-old stepped up with four straight standout displays. Pulling the strings in a 6-3 Champions League win over LASK in Austria, creating a record-breaking nine open-play chances against Brentford in London, coming off the bench to score his first goal since April in a 4-3 comeback win over Villarreal at Anfield on October 20 and then following it with another goal against Brighton yesterday.
On Friday, manager Andoni Iraola spoke to reporters about Wirtz’s progress. Iraola made it clear that there is more than meets the eye with Wirtz, “He’s coming off three very good performances and I trust this is the start of finding his confidence again… He is judged a lot in terms of goals and assists, but he is a player for whom that won’t be his strength,” Iraola said.
According to the manager, Wirtz isn’t an out-and-out No. 10 or a second striker meant to bag 15 goals a season. If he does, great! Mostly, he’s there to help Liverpool control the game. Iraola said that Wirtz looks more at ease in the Champions League, whereas in the Premier League, those physical duels are brutal and he’s still finding his feet with them.
Coming up next, Liverpool will play two big home games at Anfield. First up, they host Chelsea in the League Cup on Thursday, before taking on league leaders Arsenal on November 1. Wirtz will be keeping his eye on scoring to lock down his spot in the midfield.