Florian Wirtz has had a difficult start at Liverpool since his £116 million signing.
Nasir Jabbar
Nasir Jabbar
Florian Wirtz has been linked with a surprise move away from Liverpool after a disappointing start in England.
Wirtz moved to Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen for £116 million during the summer transfer window.
However, he has yet to justify his high price tag, failing to score or assist in ten Reds outings.
Wirtz started his team’s first several games before being dropped for their match against Everton, as he struggled to adjust to the Premier League.
Ahead of Liverpool’s league campaign restarting this weekend, a surprising rumour in Spain claims that Xabi Alonso has advised Real Madrid managers to keep a watch on the German playmaker.
Defensa Central reports that Alonso has ‘ordered Real to pay close attention to Wirtz’s future at Liverpool’.
Alonso worked with Wirtz at Bayer and was interested in signing him at Real until Liverpool got his services.
According to the article, Alonso’s ‘ultimate desire’ is to bring Wirtz to Spain, and the 22-year-old may embrace the transfer as a solution to his current position.
If he continues to underperform this season, he may seek an exit.
Arne Slot defends Florian Wirtz, who failed to score or assist for Liverpool.
Wirtz has yet to score a goal or assist in ten games this season, despite showing glimpses of his potential.
Slot has defended Wirtz on multiple occasions and will continue to do so ahead of Sunday’s game against Manchester United.
He feels Liverpool’s number seven has been unlucky and needs time to adjust to the Premier League.
“If you’ve been brought in for so much money, people look mainly at goals and assists, but I can tell you he could be on six or seven assists already,” he explained to Sky Sports.
“If you look at the passes he’s made to his teammates that didn’t result in goals, one of the best examples is the Chelsea game, where after one minute [after coming on], he had this wonderful flick to Mo Salah.
“For Mo, this is almost always a goal. I’d give him 98 out of 100 since the last time he received a ball like this was from Florian Wirtz against Atletico Madrid, but Mo hit the post.”
Slot elaborated: “He’s been a bit unlucky with the finishing when he’s given his team-mates chances but, in general for a 22-year-old, it’s quite normal that you have to adjust to going to another country let alone going to the Premier League.”
Wirtz came off the bench in Liverpool’s defeat to Chelsea before the international break and will want to start against Manchester United.
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