Florian Wirtz proves Jurgen Klopp right again after Carragher disagreement

Liverpool’s £116m summer signing Florian Wirtz struggled initially with no goals or assists in his first 12 Premier League games, but has now silenced critics with five goals and two assists since new year.

Following a difficult beginning to his Liverpool career, Florian Wirtz has begun to demonstrate why the club secured his services in the summer. In doing so, he has also vindicated former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp for the second time.

After his £116million switch from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, the midfielder went without a goal or an assist in his opening 12 Premier League outings. Shortly after the summer transfer, Klopp foresaw the pressure that Wirtz would face if results didn’t go his way initially.

Speaking to Welt, he said: “There’s no question about it, it’s an insane sum, and one that a player at Liverpool is aware of if things don’t go well for two or three games.

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“We all agree that we’re talking about a great player here. I know I once said that I’m out if we pay 100 million euros for a player. But the world is changing. That’s just the way the market is.

“He’s an outstanding player who can give any club something great. Whether he’ll make the reigning English champions even better remains to be seen.”

As Klopp anticipated, there was indeed some backlash against the summer acquisition during the opening weeks of the campaign. Speaking following Liverpool’s 1-0 Champions League loss to Galatasaray back in September, club icon Jamie Carragher urged for the player to be removed from the starting XI.

“There’s a few problems there that he’s [Arne Slot] got to fix – and it’ll now be really interesting how he goes about it because he’s spent a lot of money on certain players,” he said.

“But right now, I don’t think the balance of the team is right, and the obvious one that stands out is Florian Wirtz. He’s just not at the races at all.

“He’s a young boy coming into a new league. He’s got plenty of time to go as a Liverpool player.

“But, right now, I think he needs to come out of the team, Liverpool get back to what they were last season – and then go from there and try and build some confidence and build some defensive solidity because right now, it just looks a mess.”

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However, just days following those remarks from Carragher, Klopp expressed his belief in Wirtz eventually proving his worth if afforded the opportunity.

“I don’t have to worry about Florian Wirtz because his quality is so outstanding,” he said. “Of course, everything is fine, and everyone knows that. The discussion is certainly being blown out of proportion.

“Liverpool have just lost three games in a row – it’s unusual for something like that to happen after such a long time. But it’s also normal in life.

“That’s why these things are discussed. I’ve been in the middle of such discussions long enough now, and I can tell you: nothing could interest people less than the public discussions that are taking place there. So it doesn’t matter, and everything will be fine.

“[Wirtz has] a stable environment at Liverpool, and the club is great in moments like these. If anyone’s worried, you don’t have to! You can stop.”

Wirtz’s recent displays have once again validated Klopp’s judgement. Since the start of the year, the midfielder has netted five goals and supplied two assists in nine matches across all competitions.

His performances have earned him a nomination for the January Player of the Month accolade in the Premier League. He’ll compete against Yasin Ayari, Patrick Dorgu, Enzo Fernandes, Junior Kroupi, Crysnciso Summerville, Igor Thiago and Harry Wilson for the award.

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