Former forward turned pundit Paul Merson has urged Arne Slot to change Liverpool star Florian Wirtz’s position.
Since moving to Anfield from Bayer Leverkusen for a whopping £116m fee this summer, the German has had a slow start to his life in the Premier League, failing to make any goal contributions in four matches.
However, he joined the Merseyside club having made 67 goal contributions across all competitions at BayArena under Xabi Alonso over the last two seasons.
Now, on Sportskeeda, Merson says that Slot needs to change Wirtz’s position and should deploy him on the left flank as he is looking ‘claustrophobic in midfield’.
The 22-year-old will get more space on the flanks and should be able to cause problems for the opposition defenders like Jeremy Doku did to Manchester United last weekend. The pundit further claims that Wirtz is a ‘top-drawer’ player, and there is no doubt that he will come good in the future.
Merson said:
“What I’d like to also see is Florian Wirtz playing on the left. It will give him more space to create problems. At the moment, it feels like he’s a bit claustrophobic in midfield. Wirtz should play just like how Jeremy Doku did against Manchester United.
“If he does that, it will be hard for teams to pick him up. I have no doubt that Wirtz will eventually come good wherever he plays because he’s top-drawer. But this change to the left will give him a better chance of shining in the next game.”
Pundit lauds Wirtz
Wirtz displayed his best in the left CAM position in a 3-4-2-1 system under Alonso at Leverkusen, while Julian Nagelsmann uses him on the flanks in the Germany national team.
So, Merson’s suggestion isn’t a bad one. However, Wirtz will have to track opposition fullbacks if he were to play on the flank, meaning he would have a bigger defensive responsibility.
Following Luis Diaz’s departure, Slot has been left with Cody Gakpo as the only option to play on the left wing. Federico Chiesa can provide cover in this position, but he hasn’t been selected in the Champions League squad.
So, using Wirtz to give Gakpo a breather at times could be a good decision. Nevertheless, it is going to be interesting to see whether Slot eventually opts to do that.
