Judul : 7 pundits on Florian Wirtz’s difficult start at Liverpool: Just needs time or waste of money?
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7 pundits on Florian Wirtz’s difficult start at Liverpool: Just needs time or waste of money?
Liverpool‘s big-money summer signing Florian Wirtz has continued to receive criticism after being left out of Arne Slot’s starting XI for the Merseyside derby.
The Germany international was introduced midway through the second half, but the wait goes on for his first goal or assist in the Premier League.
“There is so much focus on out signings not least the pundits who maybe support other teams,” Slot told reporters ahead of the Merseyside derby.
“People can’t stop talking about £450m but they forget the £300m we have brought in for sales. There is so much focus on Florian but the ones who were already here haven’t scored four goals or had 12 assists.
“Florian has been part of a team that won at Newcastle and home to Arsenal which we didn’t do last season. He is part of a team that is number one in the league at the moment.”
Reasons to be concerned or far too early to make judgements? We’ve compiled what seven high-profile pundits have had to say about Wirtz’s start to life at Liverpool.
Jason McAteer
“What does it tell us that Wirtz is not selected today?” asked Richard Keys, speaking on beIN Sports, with a cheeky glint in his eye.
“Does that mean he [Wirtz] doesn’t have the tools that are required to play in the hurly burly of the Premier League when games matter?” he continued.
“Is this based… do you think on the fact he has been anonymous and barely got a kick against Arsenal… and this will be the same sort of game.”
Keys, never afraid to ask a leading question, knew what he was doing winding up the studio guest McAteer, who made 100 Premier League appearances for hometown club Liverpool.
The former midfielder struck a bit more of a diplomatic tone and isn’t reading too much into Wirtz’s lack of goals and assists.
“The challenge of what Everton are going to throw up…” is how McAteer explained Slot’s selection decision.
“I wouldn’t say [he doesn’t have] the tools. Firstly t’s a big, big game – the nature of what the fixture is.
“I think Moyes sets his team up to bully Liverpool, and I don’t think Wirtz is up to that challenge… just yet.”
Jamie Carragher
Carragher is reserving judgement for now, but he does concede that it will be difficult to shake off the colossal price tag.
“Wirtz, too early to tell,” he said in a ‘Hit or Miss’ feature for Sky Sports, rating this summer’s big-name signings.
“He’s obviously got quality, hasn’t he? The only thing I’d say is, and I’m sure he’ll come good because we know he’s got quality, but the question will be, ‘Is he a £116m player?’
“I think he’ll eventually show that, but you’d want to be one of the best players in the league for that, don’t you?”
Roy Keane
The former Manchester United captain took part in the same feature.
“I think the physicality can catch players out, but I think he’s got enough quality to be a hit,” Keane responded.
Michael Owen
“It’s fair to say that he hasn’t set the Premier League alight,” Owen told talkSPORT before the most recent international break.
“But it’s also fair to say there have been three games, and you can absolutely tell he’s quality.
“In the Community Shield game, he did a couple of things that took my breath away, and I was like, ‘I’m more excited about seeing him than any other player this season.’”
“It’s fair to say he’s been reasonably quiet in the three games so far, but he is adapting to a new league.”
The former Liverpool striker certainly isn’t writing Wirtz off just yet.
“He is adapting to new team-mates,” he continued.
“There are more things that he’s got to get used to.
“There’s no question at all about his talent. He could be absolutely anything he wants to be.
“I’m including the player of the season, one of the best players in the world, in the future.
“But it is possibly just going to take him a little bit of time. I would not be worried at all.
“I think it is premature, but I’m not going to sit here and say he’s not been quiet in the first three games, but they have won all three games, and he’s played a part, and I’m sure he’ll continue to grow into it.”
Gary Neville
“The boy, Wirtz, we will talk about him maybe,” Neville said on his podcast, following the victory over Arsenal.
“He looks like he’s just finding his feet still and, you know, how he can do that, you know, we’ll find out. He’s played in two difficult games against Arsenal and Newcastle.
“And I’m thinking, sometimes you hear expressions, don’t you, by coaches, and sometimes you say, he’s always on the move. And I’m watching Wirtz, he’s always on the move. And I’m thinking, stand still for a second.
“I’m thinking, stand still. I’m watching him there sort of like drift between the lines.”
“For me, I just think he may be a little bit predictable this moment in time, maybe a little bit deep, but it’s very early in his Liverpool career,” he added.
“I think there will be Liverpool fans, there will be 50, 60,000 in here today, and there will be Liverpool coaches thinking, okay, he needs a bit of coaching.
“He’s not the finished article at £115 million. He’s a young lad, he needs work, he needs coaching, he needs something and he’s got the right man there in Arne Slot”
Micah Richards
“Initially, if you asked me before a ball was kicked, I was raving about Reijnders and Wirtz,” Richards said on The Rest Is Football podcast.
“Wirtz has sort of taken a little while to get going. You can see his quality there,” Richards said.
“He’s probably taking a fraction too long on the ball and he’s a marked man because everyone knows about him. Ekitike, because not a lot of people knew about him, he’s sort of overachieving.”
READ: 7 Liverpool stars who started slow but became club legends: Wirtz & Kerkez next?
Emile Heskey
“100%. Even in the games that I’ve seen, I’ve seen enough,” Heskey responded when asked if Wirtz will prove worth the money (via Gambling.com).
“Yes, he is going to have to take his time, or, we [Liverpool] have got to give him time, because, coming into the Premier League, everyone forgets that it’s fast and furious. You come in from a different league where it’s very different, and then they have to speed up.
“We [the Premier League] are 100 miles an hour nearly all the time. We see it when we play in Europe, how we really trample over teams at times, because of the intensity that we play at.
“And then we expect players to come in and find that intensity straightaway. We’re probably one of the leagues where you can actually tackle still, where you’re allowed to tackle.
“So it’s dealing with that as well, people coming near you and actually tackling, and you’re not getting a free-kick. You’ve got to figure all that out.
“So I’ve seen enough that I like him. He reminds me a little bit of [Philippe] Coutinho, finding those little pockets and he’s very elegant on the ball. I like him a lot and I believe it will turn out to be a signing that is definitely value for money.”
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