Florian Wirtz issues statement to Liverpool, he knows what he wants

has sent one hell of a statement to Liverpool. The playmaker knows what he wants but can the Reds deliver it?

Florian Wirtz has not started his Liverpool career the way that anybody hoped. That’s pretty undeniable at this stage and we’re still waiting on things to click with him.

Because there can’t be much of a question that Wirtz is one of the most talented players around. We’ve seen it, for one thing, as he was the best in the Bundesliga across a two-year period despite being in his early 20s.

There’s a reason, after all, that Liverpool paid the money they did. Wirtz is a Ballon d’Or-level talent and he offered a reminder of that against Serbia on Thursday evening. He scored one and created the other through incredible pieces of skill and close control, winning the game as the standout player.

That was a statement to Liverpool, certainly, as Wirtz showed everyone just how good he can be. But it’s his comments around the match that are the biggest sign of something needing to change at Anfield.

Florian Wirtz speaks out

Wirtz spoke to ZDF in Germany and one of the most notable things he said was on his relationship with new boss Jurgen Klopp. There’s a lot of hope at Liverpool that Klopp can help get the most out of the player – and it sounds like things are going well.

“He wants me to play the football you are used to from me again,” said Wirtz, per Bild. “We definitely had one or two conversations, and he gave me a few things that I definitely take with me and try to implement. I’m glad he’s talking to me.”

It’s the admission there that Wirtz is not the same player he was that sticks out. He knows it, Klopp knows it, and we do hope Liverpool know it. Because they’ve thus far completely failed to get what they’ve paid for.

And it certainly seems that neither Wirtz nor Klopp feel that’s the player’s fault. The ex-Liverpool boss has gone straight in there and said he believes Wirtz can play to that level immediately and he setup his team to make that happen.

We know that because Wirtz himself pointed it out post-match.

“There was a lot of movement in our game, and we were all eager to play football,” he said, per Fabrizio Romano. “That makes it easier to shine”.

Wirtz needs movement. That’s his entire game. He needs movement to find passes and he needs movement so he can drift into unoccupied spaces to impact the game. Again, that’s his play style and putting him in a team where that’s not possible has been ridiculous from Liverpool.

The playmaker created six chances last night, on top of his goal. Klopp knew how to make that happen and delivered immediately. Liverpool simply haven’t, forcing Wirtz to play in an unbelievably static attacking side for over a year now.

That has to change. Elite teams build around their best player and make no mistake, Wirtz is the most talented player at Liverpool. They just refuse to build around him.

Now’s the time to fix that.