A Liverpool legend has suggested £116 million summer signing Florian Wirtz could leave the club on loan in January. Much was expected of the German international when he joined for a then-Premier League record fee, an amount that has since been surpassed by Alexander Isak. And amid his Reds struggles, an ex-Anfield favourite thinks a short-term switch for the 22-year-old could be in the offing.
Wirtz failing to fire at Liverpool
Hopes were high when Wirtz made his big-money move to Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen this summer but the player that Reds fans have seen on the pitch has not justified that huge fee so far. Indeed, in 16 appearances, he has failed to score a single goal, but he has contributed three assists. The playmaker is currently sidelined with a muscle injury, in a time where Liverpool have lost nine of their last 12 games in all competitions – a 71-year low.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportLoan move for Wirtz?
Former Liverpool midfielder and German international Didi Hamann thinks spending the second half of the season at another club could be beneficial for Wirtz. He also questioned if he has the right physicality for the Premier League.
He told CoinPoker.com: "Could Florian Wirtz still leave Liverpool on loan in January? Yeah. Obviously with all the help and all the protection from the club and the manager, if you bring somebody in for that amount of money, then maybe he should be the one, even though he's still very young, then maybe you expect him to turn things around. I don't think, the way he's playing at the moment, I'm not sure he's capable of doing that. And when I watch him sometimes, you know, thinking, has he lost belief because it is in the Premier League? Sometimes when I watch him when he loses possession, I'm thinking maybe it’s because it’s a lot quicker, a lot more physical, as if he were to say: ‘I'm not sure that's for me'. I hope I'm wrong, but this is how it looks to me. Sometimes if it's going on for too long, you know, it's very hard to turn it around."
Wirtz sent Liverpool warning
Wirtz, who has started 12 of his 16 games for Liverpool, has also been warned by Hamann that if he doesn't come good before Christmas, his Reds future may be discussed by the club's board. The German added that the youngster doesn't look happy at Anfield after a "very disappointing" start.
"Florian Wirtz has had chances to perform. He's had chances over the last six to eight weeks, where the team hasn't really fired since the start of the season," he said. "Even the games against Bournemouth, Newcastle, and Burnley were all games they probably didn't deserve to win, but they did, and he played in all of them. He's had the chance for the last three months to perform. What should make me believe he's going to do it now, because the team seems to be in disarray? It's not easy when you come in and there are cracks or problems within the team, and I don't know what it is or why it is. He doesn't look happy at the moment. He's a player who learned football on the streets, and that's how he played for Leverkusen, and this is why he was so natural, he always did the right thing. Now he doesn't do that anymore, he thinks too much. I think he works too much going backwards, which credits and honours him because he wants to help the team. But obviously, he was brought in to affect games on the other side of the pitch, and he hasn't done it so far. Having said that, it might take a little bit of weight off his shoulders because people clearly saw this past weekend that he is not the problem. Despite that, so far he's been very disappointing. I think he's got until Christmas now to show his worth, which is not easy because, as I said, the team is not functioning at the moment. I think if he doesn't do it from now until Christmas, I'm pretty sure that the club will get together with him and see what the best would be for both parties."
Getty ImagesWhat comes next for Liverpool?
With Liverpool on a run of six Premier League defeats from their last seven games, some of the heat may have been taken off Wirtz as many of his team-mates are struggling at present. Arne Slot's team are down to 12th in the table and if they don't beat West Ham this weekend, the Dutch manager could be in a fight to save his job. Either way, Wirtz needs to start contributing soon or he could be on the bench more often than not.