Gerrard backs player who has “underperformed” to turn around his Liverpool career

Steven Gerrard believes Florian Wirtz’s biggest problem at Liverpool right now is confidence, but the Anfield legend remains convinced the German has enough quality to turn things around.

Expectations have followed Wirtz since his huge-money move from Bayer Leverkusen, and although he showed encouraging spells last season, his start to the current campaign has again been frustrating.

Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City was another difficult afternoon, with Wirtz struggling to influence the game before being substituted late on.

Wirtz looks like a different player for Germany

Speaking about Wirtz’s struggles, Gerrard admitted on The Overlap that Liverpool should be getting considerably more from such an expensive signing.

“I’m not denying that he’s underperformed and that we should have seen a lot more in terms of the price tag, but I think he’s got the talent to turn it around.

“His confidence is shot at Liverpool at the moment. You can see it when you’re watching him live. He’s giving the ball away, simple balls he wouldn’t give away.

“I watch him for Germany, different player.”

That final point is perhaps the most interesting. Wirtz regularly looks far more relaxed with Germany, where his passing and movement in the final third appear much more natural.

Liverpool should focus on rebuilding Wirtz

There is clearly a problem, but writing Wirtz off would be far too early.

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola is certainly not doing that. Reuters reported that Iraola still has “100% trust” in Wirtz despite his disappointing numbers this season.

That support matters. Wirtz has only one assist so far this campaign, but Liverpool did not spend such a huge fee because of what he could produce over six league matches.

They bought him because of the creative level he showed consistently in Germany.

Confidence can disappear quickly after mistakes, criticism and disappointing results. It can also return just as fast after one decisive performance.

Gerrard’s assessment feels fair: Wirtz has underperformed, but this looks more like a player struggling mentally and tactically than one lacking ability.

Liverpool’s challenge now is to help him rediscover the version Germany continue to see.