A month into his second season at Liverpool, and the performances of Florian Wirtz remain a top talking point amongst fans and pundits. Of particular note is a perceived lack of end product—of goals and assists and chances created.
Most have acknowledged that the work-rate is there. That Wirtz is clearly trying. But for £125M and having had a year to settle in, most expect more than work-rate and clearly trying.
For former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, though, that rather than end product should
be the focus. As he sees it, Wirtz remains an elite talent, and as long as he’s putting in the running that should be celebrated in the belief that the rest will follow.
“I think he’s the player who covered the most ground at Liverpool this season, so the willingness is absolutely there,” Klopp noted as he prepared for his first international break in charge of the German National team.
“We have to move away from expecting to always see special moments in front of goal from him. He needs to help us as a team. We have to make sure Flo feels comfortable with us. When the team works, every player shines as a result.
“So we have to be satisfied when Flo plays a game in which he gave everything but didn’t register a goal or assist. We need to give the boy the feeling, That was more than good enough today. You helped us as a team.
“Instead it’s we won 1–0 or 2–0 and all the experts in the world sit there and discuss why he still hasn’t worked out. There are just as many reasons to say, He’s working perfectly well, let’s take the next steps together. That applies to Flo and all the others.”
On one hand, it’s easy to understand the fixation on end product such was Wirtz’ cost and the reputation he arrived at Liverpool with. On the other hand, Klopp is pragmatically entirely right.
Wirtz’ cost or the reputation he arrived with doesn’t matter any more. He’s a Liverpool player and has been for a year now. As long as he’s still running hard, complaining about the rest of it isn’t going to magically make things click into place.
Still, a few slick assists or well taken goals would certainly go a long way to taking a bit of the pressure off, and maybe it will be against Bournemouth on the weekend when all the work-rate and willingness starts to pay off.
