German midfielder is on the up at Anfield after a difficult start to life in England
Against Newcastle at Anfield, Florian Wirtz scored his sixth goal in 10 games as Liverpool beat the Magpies 4-1 to make their intentions clear about a top-five finish.
But Wirtz struggled in the first half of the season, the viral content machine will tell you. So have things changed for the better for the German, and if so what?
Well, six goals in his last 10 games gives a clear answer that the £116m signing from Bayer Leverkusen is on the up at Anfield. Wirtz doesn’t just have six goals, he also has eight assists, a total of 14 goal contributions in 32 appearances so far for the Reds.
And since Premier League matchday 17 in December, no player in the English top flight has made more goal contributions than Wirtz (7).
While those aren’t exactly remarkable numbers for such an expensive talent, they make for positive reading given it is only his first season.
Wirtz has always shown himself to be a sleek and silky player from the start. His pirouetted pass into Mohamed Salah against Chelsea stands out, a chance the Egyptian wildly missed.
That part hasn’t changed. Wirtz still has silky touches, but he is now also getting into better positions and finding the target. And additionally, his teammates are finding theirs when he gives them the ball.
The German has struck a neat partnership with Hugo Ekitike in the front lines. His assist for the Frenchman to score Liverpool’s first against Newcastle was the sixth time the pair have combined for a goal in all competitions this season, more than any other Premier League duo.
No other Liverpool player has also created more chances for Ekitike this season than Wirtz (16), with the closest two being Cody Gakpo (12) and Mohamed Salah (7). Adapting to the Premier League can be quite the challenge for any young talent, but Wirtz appears to have things in control.
