Wayne Rooney has given his opinion on Florian Wirtz and he was not positive about the German midfielder’s start at Liverpool.
Liverpool did not hold back during the summer transfer window. In fact, they broke the British transfer record by signing Florian Wirtz for £116m, only to do it again by bringing Alexander Isak to Anfield.
Wirtz has been an important player for Bayer Leverkusen in recent seasons. The midfielder scored ten goals and twelve assists in his last Bundesliga season and found the back of the net six times in the Champions League.
However, he has made an unexpectedly slow start at Liverpool, failing to score a single goal in the Premier League. Wirtz did get an assist in the Community Shield, but that did not stop his side from suffering a defeat to Crystal Palace after losing via a penalty shootout in August.
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has revealed his thoughts on the 22-year-old and he is certainly not writing him off in the long term. However, Rooney struggles to see how Arne Slot can justify starting Wirtz based on the other players the manager has at his disposal.
He told it BBC Sports: “I think he has played well, but when you sign as many players as Liverpool has, and they have essentially signed a whole new front line with Mo Salah there as well, then they are all competing.
“And I think Wirtz is the one who is probably not doing so well. He has so much ability, but for me I don’t see where he ends up in the team. It was a lot of money and I think Wirtz is actually damaging the balance of Liverpool, how they play. But he is a top player and I am sure he will improve, of course he will. But he has had a slow start and I think there is no denying that.”
Rooney believes Wirtz does not fit into Liverpool’s system and has even compared him to Dominik Szoboszlai. The 24-year-old Hungarian’s brilliant free-kick made the difference in a crucial Premier League win over Arsenal and he assisted in the winning goal against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
“I’ve seen players come into this league and it takes time,” Rooney continued. “For me it’s not about the price tag, it’s not about the player and his ability. I don’t see where he fits into what Liverpool are doing in that system.”
“So, is he a third midfielder? For me he is more of an attacking player. So if I have to choose between him and Szoboszlai, I would choose Szoboszlai.”
Szoboszlai has played a deeper role at times this season and Jeremy Frimpong’s injury also saw him start at right back. However, questions are now being asked whether he should return to his natural position and as a result whether Wirtz should be left on the bench.
Liverpool are on a three-match losing streak in all competitions, winning by slim margins before that.
This could mean Slot will have to make some changes to his favored starting line-up if his team are to find form again after the international break when they welcome bitter rivals Manchester United to Anfield on Sunday, October 19.
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