Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore believes Jurgen Klopp's man-management of Florian Wirtz on international duty could help the £116m midfielder rediscover his best form at Anfield, even though Klopp is no longer Liverpool manager.
Wirtz, 23, has made a moderate impact in his first season in the Premier League and has faced criticism for early performances under Andoni Iraola. However, he scored a brilliant goal for Klopp's Germany in the Nations League against Serbia and captained his country in a 0-0 draw with Greece three days later.
Collymore's verdict on Klopp's influence
Speaking to Actionnetwork.com, Collymore said: "I watched the Germany vs Serbia game the other night, and he obviously scored a cracking goal. With somebody like Jurgen Klopp that's been at Liverpool, he'll be saying to Wirtz that we've both been at this club and you're a great player and you're incredibly important for Germany."
"I think it's going to be a case where, despite him not being his club manager, Jurgen Klopp will probably be the man that has the biggest impact on his Liverpool form because of him putting an arm around him in a Germany shirt."
International form as a confidence booster
Collymore, who himself was a record signing for Liverpool at £8.5m from Nottingham Forest in 1995, added: "Wirtz played for a club that he (Klopp) managed and won the Premier League, and Klopp knows how great it is (at Liverpool), and often when players need to kick on, and to develop and get confidence, it's usually when they play in a League Cup or a Champions League game or a Europa League game, and they score a couple of goals and the pressure of the week in, week out, Premier League grind is off their shoulders."
"The other one is international football, and I think undoubtedly you could see that from Wirtz's performance the other day and if he translates that into a Liverpool shirt, then he can start to rebuild his confidence."
Wirtz's season so far and Collymore's caution
Wirtz is yet to score for Liverpool this season and has one assist in six appearances across the Premier League and Champions League. Fellow big-money signing Alexander Isak has scored four goals in five Premier League appearances after a stop-start debut campaign.
Despite his positivity about Klopp's impact, Collymore remains unconvinced about both players' long-term prospects at Anfield. "If I'm being honest, it's going to be difficult barring a miracle for both Wirtz and Isak to start hitting Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland numbers, respectively," he said. "But that doesn't mean they can't massively add to what Liverpool are trying to do, which is to win Premier Leagues and win European Cups."
"I think that once you start lukewarm at a club, even when a new manager comes in, I think that it is very difficult then to hit the ground running and then all of a sudden have this sort of golden spell. So I think that Florian Wirtz will contribute to Liverpool, and then it's down to other people to decide whether he's been value for money when he leaves Liverpool."
"With Jurgen Klopp being Germany's manager and Iraola, a very good manager at Liverpool, they'll put their arm around him and his output will be significantly better than what it's been to date."
