Florian Wirtz has three goals and two assists in his last six Liverpool games and the playmaker who completed a £116m is now only growing in confidence.
Florian Wirtz has found some goal-scoring rhythm for Liverpool lately.(Image: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
In recent weeks, Florian Wirtz has shown why Liverpool handed over £116m to Bayer Leverkusen for one of last summer’s biggest transfers. The playmaker may not have hit the ground running at Anfield and beyond, but he’s hitting form at exactly the right time for Arne Slot’s side.
Bundesliga winner Wirtz arrived on Merseyside to real excitement among Liverpool supporters, but also to great expectation owing to what stood as a British-record transfer sum for a short time. He kick-started his Liverpool career with an assist on his competitive debut last August in the Community Shield, though contributions in front of goal were to dry up as he adjusted to new surroundings over the following months.
That was until late December, when things started to change for the 22-year-old. An assist against Tottenham before Christmas was followed up days later with his first Premier League strike, in a victory against Wolves at Anfield.
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Wirtz netted, yet again, in the Reds’ league draw vs Fulham earlier this month, and most recently the midfielder’s hot streak continued with a goal and assist in the closing stages of Monday night’s FA Cup third round tie against Barnsley.
That puts him on three goals and seven assists in total since his lucrative summer switch from Leverkusen, with newfound confidence to add more to his tally in the definitive months of the campaign.
What’s more, several matches without contributing towards Liverpool’s goal haul has not diminished Wirtz’s place as the club’s most valuable asset, according to the CIES Football Observatory. In fact, they suggest his transfer value may be higher than the amount he moved for last June, as the Germany international is valued somewhere between £109m and £126m.
The CIES statistics model assesses players’ transfer values using a range of scientific factors. This also places Wirtz as the fifth-most valuable player in their published rankings.
Liverpool will hope his form continues deep into the Premier League campaign as Slot aims to secure Champions League qualification, now that retaining the English title is going to be an uphill struggle.
The Reds also have this season’s Champions League to play for, and could still qualify automatically for the knock-out stages, while the FA Cup offers the club another route to silverware.
After his first goal against Wolves in December, Wirtz said: “It was very nice the feeling on the pitch with the fans around. I was very happy and I still am.
“I was confident that I would score one day. I wanted to start earlier scoring and assisting but it was like this and I have to accept it. I just know that it will come and I try to keep going like that.
“We played a brilliant first half. Everyone was working hard. In the last 20 minutes, we made it a bit difficult.
“I cannot explain why. We have to change that.
“That’s how we want to do it. We want to be there and be on top of the table.
“It’s not been an easy start for us, but we’re doing better and getting the points.”
