Copyright Teamtalk.com
Arsene Wenger has revealed an extraordinary condition in Florian Wirtz’s transfer to Liverpool this summer that the club has so far failed to meet, and while suggesting the player can thrive in a new position, Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso has made a big prediction for the future. The Reds shelled out a then-British record fee of £116m (€130m, $150m) fee to sign Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen this summer, with the Premier League champions convincing him to move to Merseyside over possible other moves to Munich or Madrid. And while Bayern and Real were blown apart by the sums Liverpool were prepared to spend, it is safe to say that the Premier League has yet to see Wirtz at his very best. However, the star has produced his two best performances for Liverpool in the Champions League: Tuesday night against Real Madrid as the Spanish giants were beaten 1-0 and last month in the 5-1 trouncing of Eintracht Frankfurt. In both performances, it was somewhat noticeable that Wirtz has thrived while playing in a somewhat unfamiliar role; on Tuesday night starting on the left of Liverpool’s attack, though he did have freedom to roam, and previously, starting on the right when against Frankfurt. Now former Arsenal manager Wenger, working in his role as a pundit for BeIN Sports, has revealed that one of the conditions of Wirtz’s move to Anfield was that the Reds would play the 35-times capped Germany international as a No.10. “Wirtz had the chance between Munich and Liverpool,” Wenger said. “He said to Liverpool, ‘I’ll come to you if I play number 10 – I do not want to play wide’. “To get him, Liverpool said OK [to Wirtz’s request]. So they destroyed their midfield, because their midfield was Gravenberch, Mac Allister and Szoboszlai. “To play Wirtz, they took Szoboszlai out, and then what did they do against Aston Villa? They went back to their normal midfield of last year. And tonight, they’ve brought Wirtz back but he will play on the side.” Despite that, Wenger thinks Wirtz can adapt well to playing on the wing and his performance against Real Madrid certainly backed up that claim as he added: “Because the manager has said [to Wirtz], ‘if you want to play a game, you have to play wide, because I don’t want to disturb the midfield.’ That will be interesting to see.” READ NEXT 🔴 Liverpool humbled after extraordinary Florian Wirtz, Real Madrid transfer truths confirmed Wirtz thriving on Liverpool’s wing Given freedom to roam, Wirtz was unfortunate not to claim an assist when his cross to Szoboszlai saw the Hungarian’s shot force Thibaut Courtois into a world-class save. In addition, with a final rating of 7.3 (Sofascore), Wirtz can certainly be happy with his night’s work, having also made five key passes in the first half alone, already the joint-most key passes he has recorded in a single match for Liverpool. By comparison, no other player on the pitch recorded more than two key passes in the opening 45. Overall, Wirtz completed 86% of his passes, had two successful dribbles and created five chances during his 88-minute outing, leaving the field to a standing ovation from the Anfield faithful. Hopefully, the German can use his latest showing as a platform for better in the Premier League, and it will be interesting to see where Slot picks him when the Reds make the trip to tackle Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday. Either way, his former manager at Bayer Leverkusen, Xabi Alonso, believes Wirtz will soon hit the straps regularly for Liverpool. “For sure [he will be a success], I have no doubts,” Alonso said in the build-up to the Anfield clash. “It is just a matter of time. It is a big change for him to come to Liverpool after so many years in Germany, he’s been there all his life. “He needs to adapt, but he is a really special player. He has the quality, personality, and he’s competitive. “It has happened with great players in the Premier League before (that they need time to adjust) and I have no doubts with Flo. “He is so special and probably one of the reasons I’m here now (at Real Madrid), so I’m very grateful to Flo. “Hopefully not (Tuesday), but [I’ve no doubt] he will show his quality and class.” Latest Liverpool news: Bradley activates ‘beast mode’; Slot was left marvelling at the performance of Conor Bradley, while Robbie Fowler was also full of praise after his brilliant defensive display helped shut out Vinicius Jnr in Liverpool’s Champions League win over Real Madrid – but perhaps the biggest and most eye-catching praise came from the Anfield faithful… In other news, reports on the continent claim Liverpool are planning to spend a further £202m on three new signings in the January window to complete the rebuild of Slot’s side – but TEAMtalk can explain why only one of the trio touted to sign is a realistic target. Elsewhere, sources have addressed claims that Liverpool are starting to regret signing Milos Kerkez in the summer after the Hungarian’s early struggles to find his feet at Anfield, with our transfer correspondent, Dean Jones, revealing what the Reds’ future plans in the transfer market with regards their full-back department.
