Florian Wirtz is probably the most talked-about Liverpool player at the moment, following a £116m transfer from Bayer Leverkusen.
Wirtz was still made part of the national team squad despite a dip in performance since his move. The 22-year-old has only managed to make one assist in 10 appearances across all competitions.
He has also managed to score only one goal this season, and it was for the German national team against Northern Ireland. Wirtz is preparing to play for DFB again as the squad prepares for a clash against Luxembourg.
The attacker recently received applause from teammate David Raum, who saw the youngster putting in extra effort during the camp.
“The boy is hardworking and shows energy on and off the pitch. He was once again one of the longest players on the pitch today. We believe in the boy, we’re building him up here. But he also knows what he’s capable of”, Ruam exclaimed.
Florian Wirtz Liverpool role
Florian Wirtz hasn’t made much of an impression yet at Anfield (Credits: Imago Images)
Not having made much of an impression at Anfield, multiple pundits have criticised the German’s role at Liverpool. Many see him as someone capable of leading the left flank, whereas others find his playmaking skills imposing.
In recent talks with Sky Sports, Wirtz sat down with two of his youth team coaches, whom he credits for the help they provided throughout his career.
FC Koln youth team coaches Martin Heck and Markus Daun also talked about the player’s ambitions and the talent they saw early on.
“He [Heck] put me in the position where I have to be, like behind the striker on the No.10 and just gave me the freedom”, Wirtz said, talking about his preferred position.
Wirtz’s Ballon d’Or dreams
Daun, on the other hand, told Sky Sports how the Wirtz once told him about his dreams. The coach said that when asked, the playmaker talked about winning the Ballon d’Or one day.
“I asked him in a meeting about his career goals. All the guys from the team said, ‘Oh, I will be the German championship winner this year, and I will be in the starting XI. Florian said: ‘I will win the Ballon d’Or in the future.’”
He further talked about how he’d usually ask the kids to be realistic, but took a different approach towards Wirtz, knowing he was meant to end up at the top.
“Normally, I would say, ‘Okay, please stay realistic,’ but in this case, I said, ‘Okay, go your way and you can achieve it!’ I knew from the beginning that he will go his way until the top of the world.”
