Midway through last summer’s transfer window, there was an air of frustration and disappointment for Bayern Munich when it became clear Florian Wirtz was choosing to join Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen
instead of the German Rekordmeister. Bayern then had to work through their contingency plans and ironically wound up signing Luis Diaz from Liverpool, who has enjoyed a fantastic start to life in Munich and the Bundesliga. The Colombian winger has already tallied 11 goals and 5 assists from a total of 17 appearances across all competitions. By stark contrast, Wirtz has tallied just 3 assists from a total of 16 appearances across all competitions at Liverpool and has yet to find the back of the net.
By the evidence on display, Bayern seemingly got the best out of the situation from the summer with how good Diaz has been so far. His solid form has been all the more refreshing given that the club has been without Jamal Musiala in attack and Alphonso Davies in defense as they’ve both been recovering from major injury problems. Additionally, Bayern have started the season with 17 matches unbeaten, but it’s been far different for Wirtz with the defending Premier League champions. Arne Slot’s side have already lost 5 times in the league, once in the Champions League, and they were recently knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Crystal Palace.
Ahead of Germany’s pair of World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg and Slovakia for the November international break, Julian Nagelsmann was asked about just what’s going on with Wirtz at Liverpool, and he feels it’s a multi-faceted, complicated situation for the 22-year old playmaker. “I always speak to Flo, regardless of his situation. It’s a very complex and difficult situation when you look at his club. Last year they won the Premier League and played very attractive football. This year a few players left them, and they invested a lot of money on new players,” he explained (via @iMiaSanMia).
Liverpool tragically lost Diogo Jota when a car crash killed him and his brother André Silva in July, which has certainly had an unfathomable impact at the club and the fan base. In addition to the devastating loss, Liverpool saw all of Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Harvey Elliot, and Jarell Quansah. They did, however, break the bank for their incoming players, having brought in Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Giorgi Mamardashvili and Giovanni Leoni in addition to Wirt, having spent over 500-million euros to do so.
For Nagelsmann, he feels all of the attacking players just having quite clicked yet and Wirtz is being highlighted because of his 130-million euros+ transfer fee. “The entire mix is very complex – each of the 5 attacking players wants to be the ‘star player’, this situation doesn’t make it easy for Flo – because the entire club is not as stable as they were last season. I watched the game against [Manchester] City and they were the worse team over 90 minutes. It’s not easy for Flo to put his mark in such a situation. We can see that a lot of players struggle when they move to another club where there have been many changes. In the end I can’t influence his performances at Liverpool,” the Germany manager stressed.
One statistic working in Wirtz’s favor when push comes to shove with Liverpool’s form under the microscope is the fact that he’s created 21 chances across all competitions, yet he still only has the trio of assists. That stat line suggests that Wirtz’a fellow Liverpool attackers are letting him down just a bit too much when he’s giving opportunities, perhaps waning in confidence in pulling the trigger himself the longer he’s gone at Liverpool without scoring.
Regardless of what his club form is like, Nagelsmann is still fully focused on getting the best out of Wirtz for the German national team. “I can only influence what he does here. I think he made steps in the right direction in October. We all know what he can do, it’s normal to have a dip in form. We’ll help and support him to keep a clear head,” he said, recognizing that he’s been progressively getting better with his Merseyside contingent. It’s only a matter of time before Liverpool see the real, fully-flowing (no pun intended) Florian Wirtz.
Bayern Munich sputtered into the international break with a 2-2 draw against Union Berlin.
While it was tough watch at times, there is no reason to panic…right? Right?
Right — and let’s talk about why, plus more on the next edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works Show:
- The aftermath of Bayern Munich’s 2-2 draw with Union Berlin. How are fans feeling? Did Vincent Kompany go to the well one too many times? Was the team tired, uninspired, or both?
- Do Bayern Munich fans appreciate just how good Joshua Kimmich is?
- Dayot Upamecano is getting more suitors (Manchester United, Inter Milan, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid) and things are not progressing with Bayern Munich. Are the obstacles too much to overcome? Should they be?
- Would Ibrahima Konaté be a good successor if Upamecano leaves?
- Jamal Musiala could take a little longer to get back.
