RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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€150m sensation expects to star for Liverpool this season
One €150m sensation believes he will star for Liverpool this season. The Reds desperately need him to.
Liverpool want to turn things around this season, having suffered a clear decline last term on the back of a record-breaking spend. The Reds put out over £400m on new players and while over £200m in sales subsidised that, it was still the spending of a club hoping to solidify themselves in the elite bracket.
Instead, things just got worse. Liverpool were off it in just about every area, breaking records for straight defeats in the process.
That's despite the club getting it right on paper. They unquestionably signed some fantastic talents - they just didn't deliver for a multitude of reasons.
Part of that was the playing style. Part of that was an injury crisis. And part of that being that the squad quite clearly wasn't put together correctly.
The Reds lacked pace, neutering them as both a counter-attacking team and one which could stretch packed defences. They've moved to fix that this summer, bringing in Victor Munoz and, with any luck, Bradley Barcola.
And there may be no player that helps more than Florian Wirtz . The German joined Liverpool for a fee that could be worth up to €150m if add-ons are met, with a reputation as potentially the best in the world.
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But that's not what we saw in season no.1 as Wirtz struggled for space and options. He was nowhere near his creative best - our model has him dropping from being the outright-best attacking midfielder in Germany for two straight years before offering the 10th-best value in position in the Premier League.
Wirtz, though, feels that season was just a warm-up. He expects to get back to his best and star for Liverpool this season.
“I definitely learned a lot," said Wirtz, per The Times . "I just learned how Premier League football is played and I think I am more ready for my second season because I know how it is now. I am really excited for my next season.
“I’ve played one year now in England and I’ve said often enough that it’s a different style of football than in Germany. You just get used to the games and your opponents. I just know how it is now, so I’m happy to have my next season.
“[It is a] difficult question [to assess my first season] but, of course, there were some games when I wasn’t happy with myself, but also a lot of games when I felt good on the pitch. Last season was difficult for the whole club but, hopefully, we have the right energy and mentality this season, so every player can shine more.”
You can't really understate how important it would be for Liverpool if Wirtz recaptured his best form. The no.7 offered around half of his attacking output last season and getting him back to his peak would mean getting one of the world's best players.
Wirtz sounds confident that he can do just that.
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