Jurgen Klopp has insisted he has never had an issue with Liverpool playmaker Florian Wirtz but has doubled down on his claim that the timing of the 23-year-old's move to Anfield may have worked against him.
Klopp, now managing the German national team, is seeing the version of Wirtz that convinced Liverpool to pay a club record fee to sign him from Bayer Leverkusen. The Reds star was involved in both goals as Germany beat Serbia 2-0 on Thursday, setting up Tom Bischof for the opener and scoring the second himself.
Klopp's 'worst possible moment' remark
"I've had a great time with him, and I only know the one I know now; I didn't get a sense of the other one," Klopp said. "He came to Liverpool at the worst possible moment. He's an incredible player who will come back. If he were out of form and people said, 'Play him anyway' – but he's in form."
Klopp previously spoke about the impact of Diogo Jota's death on the Liverpool squad. Wirtz arrived at Anfield less than a month after the Portugal international and his brother Andre Silva were killed in a car crash, a loss still deeply felt on Merseyside.
"Flo arrived in Liverpool at the worst possible moment," the manager said in September. "By that I do not mean that Liverpool won the title the year before but rather the tragic death of Diogo Jota."
"He came into a team with an incredible number of players for whom football, at that moment, had quite understandably dropped down the list of priorities. Then you come along as a new player and everyone immediately looks for someone to pull their chestnuts out of the fire. That is simply impossible."
Wirtz's form under new management
Wirtz has gone through managerial changes at club and international level in the 15 months since arriving at Anfield. Klopp has replaced Julian Nagelsmann in the Germany dugout, while Andoni Iraola has taken over from Arne Slot on Merseyside.
"The way we want to play suits Florian Wirtz," Klopp said. "I think everyone at Liverpool is very happy today. He is full of love for the game, and he has given everything he has."
During the current international break, the Germany boss said: "Everyone who loves football can still see what an exceptional player [Wirtz] is." The Serbia game was a first international start since a World Cup in which he produced three assists in four appearances but couldn't prevent Nagelsmann's side falling at the first knockout hurdle.
At club level, Wirtz has been a regular for Iraola's unbeaten side, though his only assist came for Victor Munoz's equaliser against Nottingham Forest. Liverpool have big fixtures ahead in October, including two Champions League outings and a league meeting with leaders Manchester City.
