Florian Wirtz may not be shining at Liverpool yet, but the German media won’t be having any criticism of him.
That’s at least if the latest from SportBILD is anything to go by. They’ve come out fighting for him today, with a little help from Jan Ange Fjørtoft.
The newspaper explains how several German stars outside of the Bundesliga are ‘in crisis’ at this moment in time. Wirtz is at the top of that pile, with a slow start to his life at Liverpool following his big money move from Bayer Leverkusen this summer.
Liverpool are aware of this and shielding him from the criticism as much as possible. They know Wirtz is bothered by the talk about him. His current record of one assist in 10 games, something unprecedented for him, is weighing heavily.
Arne Slot has no doubts, speaking frequently with the midfielder. He’s got him as a pillar of his team and wants that known. Wirtz is key to his plans to change the team around.
SportBILD even try to apportion some of the blame to Mohamed Salah. They say if he’d scored the ‘mega chance’ against Chelsea, Wirtz’s record would look different. In fact, it’s suggested Liverpool’s players have been doing Wirtz dirty on that front.
Inevitable Florian Wirtz and Beatles link
The magazine points out how Wirtz is the Premier League player who’s created the most chances this season. The fact they aren’t being ‘capitalised on’ isn’t his fault.
There’s even a feeling that his critics, the likes of Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville, aren’t seeing such moments. SportBILD suggest that’s due to bias, though. In their eyes they are ‘legends from rival Manchester United’ who ‘rarely see the good at LFC’. In other words, they’re not being fair.
Fjørtoft certainly thinks so, backing the German to come good eventually and hinting that some criticism has been over the top.
“The criticism is focused on Wirtz. He seems to be responsible for everything negative at Liverpool – the only thing missing is for him to be blamed for the Beatles not performing anymore,” he said.
“Of all the Premier League transfers like Gyökeres (Arsenal), Isak (Liverpool), and the rest, I have the least concerns about Wirtz. His appointment is a project for five years and more.”
Just a couple of weeks ago, the German media reported their surprise at the leniency Wirtz has been shown by the Premier League media.
