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Jurgen Klopp has leapt to the defence of Florian Wirtz after Liverpool manager Arne Slot decided to leave the attacking midfielder out of the starting line-up against Manchester United, but Anfield legend Jamie Carragher still has his doubts. Much was expected of Wirtz when Liverpool signed the Germany international attacking midfielder from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025. Liverpool, who won the Premier League title under manager Arne Slot last season, paid an initial £100million (€115m, $134m) to Bayer Leverkusen for Wirtz, with a further £16m (€18.4m, $21.5m) to come in add-ons. Wirtz arrived at Liverpool having won the Bundesliga title with Bayer in the 2023/24 campaign and scoring 57 goals and giving 65 assists in 197 appearances. The 22-year-old’s performances for Liverpool so far this season have been underwhelming, with the playmaker giving just one assist in 11 appearances for the Merseyside club. Liverpool manager Slot decided to drop Wirtz from the starting line-up for the Premier League game against Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday. The 22-year-old did come on as a substitute in the 62nd minute and was involved in Cody Gakpo’s goal in the 78th minute when he found Federico Chiesa to tee up for the Dutchman. Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes that no one should dismiss Wirtz just yet and has made it clear to Slot that he is an “incredible” player. READ NEXT 🔴 Sky Sports reporter mocks Liverpool after Man Utd loss – Slot’s tactical disasterclass needs more condemnation Jamie Carragher’s doubts over Florian Wirtz at Liverpool This is not the first time that Klopp has praised Wirtz, with the former Liverpool manager raving about his German compatriot earlier this month, too. Klopp told German outlet n-tv about Wirtz: “His quality is so outstanding. The discussions are a bit exaggerated. “Liverpool just lost three games in a row, which is unusual. But that’s also normal in life. And that’s why such things are discussed there. “[Wirtz is] a once-in-a-century talent, and at some point he’ll show that in every game again – just as he did at Leverkusen.” Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann noted about Wirtz on Sport 1: “Even though he hasn’t scored any goals, he is still the player who creates the most chances in the Premier League. “It’s not his fault if his team-mates don’t convert them, and the statistics don’t even tell the whole story. “Wirtz needs to get used to the league. I saw him playing with total freedom. He knows what he’s capable of and how things work. “He hasn’t always had it easy – he’ll have to work hard now too.” Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes that if it does not happen for Wirtz in the coming weeks, then he could turn out to be a flop. Carragher told Sky Sports after Liverpool’s defeat to Manchester United: “How long do you give foreign players when they first come to the league? “You don’t write the first year off but you say the second year they’ll improve and get better. “But, if I’m being honest, if I think of the great foreign signings – Sami Hyppia, Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, Luis Suarez, Didi Hamann – they all hit the ground running. “I can’t think of many, who had an average, poor start – I’m not talking seven games by the way but if you’re getting to Christmas and January and being like ‘oh’. “History doesn’t tell me that foreign signings coming into England take a year.” When prompted that Thierry Henry did not score in his first eight matches with Arsenal, Carragher noted: “Exactly. Wwhat I’m saying is it wasn’t a year. “Seven or eight games is too early [to judge] but once we get to January, February, March when is the time we can start saying ‘maybe this was a mistake?’ “Especially at Liverpool, players who are great foreign signings for the club hit the ground running.” HAVE YOU SIGNED UP? 💫 Get the inside story first by joining our TEAMtalk Facebook channel to receive the latest breaking and exclusive news straight into your Messenger inbox. Latest Liverpool news: Real Madrid bid, Newcastle fans on Isak performance Meanwhile, Real Madrid are planning to bid for a defender in January, with Liverpool’s stance being to sign him in the summer of 2026. Newcastle United fans have torn into Alexander Isak, as the Sweden international striker failed to make an impact for Liverpool against Manchester United in the Premier League this weekend. And finally, four pundits have ripped apart a Liverpool defender for his abject performance against Man Utd.
