Florian Wirtz agreement reached as Liverpool sent clear 'diva' message

Florian Wirtz is yet to register a Premier League goal or assist for Liverpool since joining the Reds in an £116m switch from Bayer Leverkusen

Florian Wirtz was all-smiles as he reported for Germany duty on Monday. You would not have thought the 22-year-old had found himself benched just 48 hours earlier for Liverpool’s trip to Chelsea.

Introduced at half-time with the Reds trailing 1-0 to a Moises Caicedo strike, the playmaker nearly made an instant impact with a sumptuous flick to Mohamed Salah, only to see the Egyptian fire wide on his weaker foot. But despite a handful of further eye-catching moments, he was unable to help Liverpool reverse their recent rut.

Cody Gakpo would equalise for the Reds, but Estevao’s stoppage-time winner saw Arne Slot’s men fall to a third-successive defeat and surrender top spot in the Premier League table to Arsenal in the process.

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As for Wirtz, who was making his seventh Premier League appearance, it means his wait for a first goal or assist in the English top-flight goes on. Inevitably, those tiresome ‘007’ memes go on.

The German does have one assist for Liverpool at least, coming on his debut against Crystal Palace in the Community Shield. But that is the limit of his contributions, with Wirtz having now totalled ten appearances for the club.

The October international break then perhaps comes at a good time for the 22-year-old, with Germany hosting Luxembourg before travelling to Northern Ireland in their latest World Cup qualifiers.

Wirtz scored his only goal of the campaign so far during the last break, netting a stunning free-kick in the reverse fixture against Northern Ireland.

Heading into the break, and after Germany’s 2-0 defeat to Slovakia in their first September fixture, he had come in for intense criticism back in his homeland.

But since then, a whole host of Germany legends have made a point of defending the playmaker as the ‘slow’ start to his Liverpool career continues.

Germany sporting director Rudi Voller puts Wirtz’s issues at Anfield down to his new team-mates, admitting it will take time for the playmaker to gel.

“The big difference is: at Bayer Leverkusen, despite the individual quality of the other players, he was always looked for,” Voller said on Sky90. “Players like Granit Xhaka, Alejandro Grimaldo or Robert Andrich certainly ran the game.

“But the moment Florian made himself available, he always got the ball. Even as a young guy, he was already the chief.

“I deliberately watched some Liverpool games with him: he does an incredible amount of work, runs a lot, makes many sprints, and also goes deep.

“But he isn’t played to in the way he was used to at Leverkusen or with the national team. That’s something that has to be developed over weeks and months.

“I know that he’s not one of those divas in his position who stand around with their heads down if they’re not passed to three times. Florian isn’t like that.

“He’s not only an extraordinary footballer, he also has a great character. He will give everything from the first to the last minute, always push forward. He also has incredible running stats. He will assert himself.

“We’re very happy that he is with us for ten days now. I am convinced he will deliver two wonderful international matches.”

This is not the first time Voller has leapt to the defence of Wirtz, having backed the midfielder to 'show the English' when speaking to BILD earlier this month.

"Florian shouldn't let himself get carried away," he said. "I have no concerns about that: He'll show the English what he's made of.

"Florian is playing in a new league and a new club. These are normal adjustment problems. Almost every professional has them.

"I have no doubt that with his running and playing ability, he will make the breakthrough."

Fellow Germany legends Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lothar Matthaus are also both adamant that Wirtz’s quality will soon shine through at Liverpool, as they shared their own experiences of playing abroad.

"We have to give the players a bit of time,” Schweinsteiger insisted at his induction into the German Football Hall of Fame in Dortmund. “Especially when you move from the Bundesliga to the Premier League, you also have to adjust a bit. I've experienced that myself."

Schweinsteiger of course made his own move to the Premier League with Manchester United in 2015, only to find himself frozen out by new manager Jose Mourinho after just one season. Speaking from experience, he does not expect Wirtz to follow the same path.

"He will delight us all in the future," he added. "Florian Wirtz is a fantastic footballer, a great character. We should be happy that we have such a player in Germany."

While Matthaus never played in England, he did move to Inter Milan in 1988 in his own big-profile move.

"That's normal after such a big move abroad," he told Sky Germany last month. "But he's a superb player, he will get used to the Premier League over time and be able to handle the even bigger pressure.

"I felt the same way at Inter Milan at the beginning. Andi Brehme, whose transfer was rather quiet, performed immediately at Inter.

"I had to get used to everything, partly due to the media hype and the higher transfer fee."

Like Wirtz, Michael Ballack played for Bayer Leverkusen before making his own move to the Premier League, though the midfielder went via Bayern Munich before signing for Chelsea on a free transfer in 2006.

Having previously admitted he was not surprised to see his compatriot snub the Bavarians in favour of a switch to Liverpool, he also told BILD that Wirtz is simply too good a player to fail in England.

But, like Voller, he pointed out that Wirtz would get 'almost every ball' from his team-mates at Leverkusen, while that would not be the case at Anfield.

“There’s a lot of competition within the Liverpool team, and expectations of Florian Wirtz have increased from the outside," he said. "Or rather the expectations he has of himself.

"And at the beginning, it won’t be like it was in Leverkusen, where everyone plays for him and he gets almost every ball.

"That’s why it’s legitimate that he still needs to find his way around a bit. But he’s such an exceptional footballer, so I’m not worried about him. For him and his development, the move to England wasn’t a bad move."

Elsewhere, Philipp Lahm has also insisted he has no concerns about Wirtz as he too waxed lyrical about the playmaker's quality.

"I'm not worried about Florian Wirtz at all," he said. "Because he's such an outstanding, brilliant player who simply makes his teammates better.

"Quality and class always prevail, and that will absolutely be the case with Florian Wirtz."

In more familiar surroundings with Germany, Wirtz will look to prove his compatriots right over the next two weeks.

Beyond that, maybe a strong international break could prove to be exactly what he needs to really kickstart his Liverpool career into life.

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