Andoni Iraola insists Florian Wirtz “should be judged like everyone else”
With the first international break of the season around the corner, the Reds will play their last game of football for three weeks this weekend when they travel to Bournemouth.
Florian Wirtz has come under plenty of scrutiny during the opening matches of the season, with several major media outlets questioning the German’s performances.
The Liverpool No. 7 has endured a mixed start to the campaign, but given the price tag that came with his move to Anfield, it is understandable that fans and pundits around the Premier League have high expectations for the former Bayer Leverkusen man.
Andoni Iraola, however, has offered a different perspective on Wirtz’s performances.
“He should be judged like everyone else, he works. How does the team play when you are on the pitch? I am very happy with Florian, he understands what we need in every aspect of the game. We want to add assists and goals but he is helping us in all areas.”
This comes just one day after Liverpool legend Jürgen Klopp was asked about Wirtz during his press conference ahead of Germany’s four matches during the international break.
The 59-year-old mirrored the same response Iraola gave today, emphasising that there is more to the midfielder’s game than just goals and assists.
The £116 million man will play in two games during this international break, with the former Reds manager deciding to name 44 players across two separate squads, with each group set to play two matches.
“I think he’s the player who covered the most ground at Liverpool this season, so the willingness is absolutely there. We have to move away from expecting to see special moments from him. He needs to help us as a team.”
“We need to be satisfied when Flo Wirtz plays a game in which he gave everything but didn’t register a goal or assist. We simply need to give the boy the feeling: ‘That was more than good enough today. You helped us as a team. We won 1–0 or 2–0.”
With the 23-year-old not included in the Reds’ midweek victory over Tottenham, we should expect to see him return to the starting XI for this week’s trip to the south coast. With all the discussion surrounding him in the media, I’m sure Wirtz will go into this fixture with a point to prove.
