Former Liverpool midfielder Steve McManaman has backed Florian Wirtz to deliver under Andoni Iraola this season, saying the German is "my style of player" and hoping he will "put a mark on the season".
Wirtz endured a difficult maiden campaign at Anfield last season following his £116m summer switch from Bayer Leverkusen. Arne Slot's side finished poorly before the head coach was sacked on May 30.
The Germany international scored seven goals and created eight assists in his first term on Merseyside, but it was a year to forget for the Reds as they lost 20 games in all competitions and squeezed into the fifth Champions League spot on the final day of the season.
McManaman's verdict on Wirtz
Now being coached by Iraola, who replaced Slot in early June, McManaman says Wirtz's style resonates with him and challenged the 23-year-old to show what he is really capable of at Liverpool.
"In terms of who I'm most looking forward to seeing in a Liverpool shirt this season, at the moment it's the players we brought in last year," McManaman told Seven, powered by Ladbrokes.
"You know, I was really excited with the Florian Wirtz signing, and they've had a bit of bad fortune with the likes of Hugo Ekitike, Alexander Isak and Giovanni Leoni being out with a bad injury at such a young age.
"But it's people like Florian who I'm really looking forward to seeing more of. When he was in the Bundesliga with Leverkusen, I really enjoyed watching him; he's my style of player."
Second season hopes
McManaman added that Wirtz "does some lovely things on the ball, he just never did enough of them last year" and hopes he will "get savvy to the Premier League, its strength and its intensity" in his second season.
"I'd like to think he can put a mark on the season, because I love the way he plays football," he said.
Iraola appointment backed
McManaman also praised Iraola, saying he "always liked his style of football" and thought he did a "brilliant job at Bournemouth". He noted that Iraola had been speaking to Bayer Leverkusen and was close to AC Milan for a while, so Liverpool felt this summer was the right time to make their move.
"You know, you don't like seeing a manager losing their job, as Arne Slot did, but if they thought Andoni was a step up, and that he'd give the club a new lease of life, playing a different style of football - a more attacking style which the fans demanded - then you'd have to say it was the right appointment," McManaman concluded.
