Peter Crouch says Andoni Iraola might need to take Florian Wirtz out of his starting XI moving forward, with the Liverpool playmaker remaining a talking point at the start of the new season.<\/p>\n
Jamie Carragher is among the pundits to have questioned Wirtz’s impact so far this term, calling for him to be dropped, and though the German looked better against LASK in the Champions League, he won’t be afforded as much time and space at Brentford this weekend.<\/p>\n
“He’s had 50-odd games for Liverpool, and he hasn’t really done it,” Crouch said. “I think there’s certain players \u2014 their output isn’t quite enough and Wirtz is one of them.<\/p>\n
“He looks good on the ball but I don\u2019t think he creates or scores enough goals since he’s been in the Premier League.<\/p>\n
“In Germany he was a class act, but for \u00a3100M \u2014 I know you don’t want to keep harping on about the fee \u2014 but it’s just not good enough, is it?<\/p>\n
“There’s a slight worry with Bradley Barcola as well. It seems very disappointing but obviously he banged me in the hat-trick and hopefully that’s given him a load of confidence.”
\nFlorian Wirtz and Rio Ngumoha of Liverpool<\/p>\n
Florian Wirtz and Rio Ngumoha of Liverpool(Image: Liverpool FC\/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
There is a case for the modern Premier League not being suited to players like Wirtz, who are technicians rather than big, physical players.<\/p>\n
But with few other options given the ongoing injury doubts regarding Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo, who have all been sidelined, Iraola might not have much choice but to persist with the 23-year-old, even if there is a case for changing things up.<\/p>\n
“I think under Arne Slot he would have been maybe a little bit more suited,” Crouch, speaking to Paddy Power, continued.<\/p>\n
“[Iraola\u2019s style of play] is a very dynamic, aggressive pressing kind of game and yeah, it’s not ideal for him. But if he’s a top, top player, he can adjust to any kind of situation.<\/p>\n
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“It’s not just him [Wirtz] not getting utilized; he’s getting the ball. He\u2019s just a little bit lightweight at times.”<\/p>\n
Liverpool.com says: Wirtz is clearly very talented and he has been lacking a bit of confidence. It will help him when others around him are performing better, too, with Barcola hitting some goalscoring form midweek.<\/p>\n
Like Steven Gerrard said earlier this week, Wirtz has the potential to become a top player and he is still very young. For the price, though, he needs to improve as quickly as he can.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"