Liverpool have been told how to get the best out of Florian Wirtz after the German playmaker impressed for his country under Jurgen Klopp, even as club boss Andoni Iraola faces a bigger dilemma up front for Sunday's Premier League clash with Manchester City.
Wirtz enjoyed a memorable international break, though Germany's results were mixed. Under Klopp for the first time, Die Mannschaft drew 1-1 with the Netherlands in their opening Nations League match. After a shock 1-0 defeat to Greece, in which Wirtz appeared as a substitute, the Liverpool No.7 returned a goal and an assist in a 2-0 victory over Serbia. He then captained his nation from the start for the first time in a 0-0 draw away in Greece.
Klopp and Pavlovic on Wirtz's best role
After the win over Serbia, Klopp explained where he wants to see the 23-year-old on the pitch. "We have to look at where he is most valuable for us, and that is definitely in the half-spaces," Klopp said. "There's no question about that. He can also play out wide, but as soon as we have the ball, he should move back into the half-spaces. That's definitely where he feels most comfortable. For Flo, the left half-space would be the perfect position. For his goal, he moved into the centre, and that's exactly where he needs to be as well."
Germany team-mate Alexsandar Pavlovic also praised playing alongside Wirtz and Tom Bischof. "It was incredibly fun playing alongside Tom and Flo [against Serbia]," Pavlovic said. "You can see that we all have a lot of quality on the ball together. We complemented each other well defensively, too. On the ball, Flo obviously has complete freedom, and we try to get the ball to him as much as possible. Ultimately, the coach decides what role I have, but I simply want to contribute my qualities to the team when I play. Control the game when I have the ball, press when we don't have the ball, go into duels, help the team defensively and offensively."
Iraola's striker shortage and midfield issues
Wirtz has endured a slow start to the season for Liverpool, returning just one assist and no goals from his first six appearances under Iraola. With Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo both withdrawing from international duty through injury, the pressure on the German could increase, and he might even be required to play up front.
"Who else have we got? He could play Florian Wirtz up there," Reds legend John Aldridge wrote in his column for the ECHO. "We've played without a striker against Man City once before and it worked well. He's had an okay international break but it's not just the form. He has to deal with the situation, the pressure. The media's on top of him but he's putting himself under pressure too. He's a really good player. And we need him now. We need him really to push us to the heights where we need to be, to fight against Arsenal and whoever else ends up up there."
Liverpool have also had issues in midfield, with Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai struggling to find their best form. On the opening day of the season, Gravenberch coughed up possession twice in attack as Newcastle United scored both of their goals on the counter. Alexis Mac Allister's return to form has seen him usurp Gravenberch as the number six, while there have been calls for Trey Nyoni to be handed a starting opportunity.
Iraola evidently has more to solve than just getting the best out of Wirtz. But the former Bayer Leverkusen star should be better placed to deliver once the Reds crack the ideal base behind him.
