Florian Wirtz has Liverpool supporters scratching their heads once again after turning in a brilliant performance for Germany.
The 22-year-old has failed to hit the heights expected of him since joining the Reds for £116m, and despite a renaissance in the new year, he has dropped off again in recent weeks.
On Friday, Wirtz looked reborn while playing for his national team against Switzerland, hitting two excellent goals and registering a pair of assists. After watching his performance, ESPN pundit Craig Burley explained why Liverpool‘s No. 7 is not regularly doing the same for his club.
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Wirtz feels more comfortable with Germany
After a very up and down season so far, Wirtz really needed a statement performance such as the one he delivered in Basel.
And according to Burley, the lack of question marks surrounding him for Germany make it far easier for Wirtz to be his usual self.
“It looks to me as if he plays a lot more comfortable playing for Germany at the moment, because he is in his comfort zone,” said the former Chelsea player.
“He’s expected to be in the German team, his place isn’t really under threat in that team because they’ve seen it week in week out in the Bundesliga, they know his skillset. Whereas when he’s at Liverpool he’s settling in, he’s still trying to prove himself.”
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“When he’s playing for Germany he’s oozing that confidence because he’s been there, seen it and done it in the national team jersey and with Leverkusen.
“When he’s with Liverpool there’s a constant ‘what’s Florian Wirtz going to do, where’s Florian Wirtz today?’ Also he’s playing in a side which has patently struggled for any sort of momentum.”
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“I think he goes back to Germany and it’s almost like a nice break for him, because they’re not asking what position he’s in and where’s the goals and the assists, all those things that Liverpool fans and the media are still waiting for, he’s been doing that for quite some time for Germany.
“When you’re in that frame of mind and you just feel like you’re the guy then you’re going to play better, your chest puffs out. Whereas at Liverpool he knows nobody – apart from Mo Salah – is getting more eyes on him to say ‘what’s he doing, what’s his best position?'”
Until he regularly begins showing this kind of form for Liverpool, those questions will remain. With time, hopefully Wirtz can start to feel much more at home, though, by Burley’s logic, the performances should then start to follow.
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