Liverpool star in ‘puppy protection’ with ‘stroking diminishing’ as Slot regular ‘regresses alarmingly’
Liverpool attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz is currently in “puppy protection” at Anfield but the “stroking will diminish” soon enough, according to reports in Germany, while Ibrahima Konate has also come in for criticism.
The Reds lost their second match in four days on Tuesday night as a Victor Osimhen penalty was enough to give Galatasaray a 1-0 win over the Premier League champions.
Liverpool have not yet reached the levels of play they were hitting under Arne Slot last season despite bringing in several quality signings over the summer.
Germany international Wirtz was one of the most expensive, costing the Reds £100m with a further £16m in possible add-ons, with Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher calling for him to be dropped after his displays so far this term.
And now Swiss journalist Marcel Reif thinks Wirtz has been getting away without much criticism so far but that could change now that Liverpool have started to lose some games.
Reif told German outlet BlueNews: “He doesn’t have the same influence as he did in Leverkusen. I still believe in him because he’s a much too good player. But at some point, the puppy protection and the stroking will diminish.
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“As long as they’re winning the games and he’s not really involved, you get away with a lot. But when you lose a game like that, and then lose in the league the weekend before, you have to ask where Florian Wirtz was today.”
Liverpool centre-back Konate was linked with a move to La Liga giants Real Madrid over the summer but his performances recently could make Los Blancos think twice.
Konate once again had a poor game and The Athletic‘s James Pearce insists the France international has ‘regressed alarmingly’ from his displays at the end of last season.
Pearce wrote in The Athletic: ‘Ibrahima Konate started the season poorly before recovering to deliver several commanding displays — but over the past week, he has regressed alarmingly with erratic, error-strewn performances against Palace and Galatasaray. His poor pass left Liverpool exposed early in the second half and led to Alisson suffering a muscle injury as he raced back to thwart Victor Osimhen.’
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European football journalist Kevin Hatchard insists that Wirtz will come good eventually in England with Liverpool fans urged to show more patience.
Hatchard told talkSPORT: “A bit of patience is needed. It’s not happening for him. I think the pace of play is what he’s struggling with at the moment.
“He’s taking an extra touch. He’s maybe not quite making the ball move as quickly as he normally would and he’s getting caught out.
“When you have such a big money move and you have that change of club and change of country you want to hit the ground running.
“When it doesn’t happen, there’s just that little seed of doubt in his mind. But I’m 100 per cent convinced it’s going to happen for him.”
Hatchard added: “Look at the team that was unbeaten and won the league and the cup that season, which Bayern have never done by the way, and got to the final of the Europa League that same season.
“He was the best player. He wasn’t the only top player. Granit Xhaka was important. Jonathan Tah was important, but he was outstanding.
“If you look at the Champions League last season, he got five man-of-the-match awards for Leverkusen. It’s in there, but that whole team was geared towards what he could do.
“He’s gone to Liverpool, and he’s one of several. It’s not been built around him, and I wouldn’t expect it to be. But Liverpool are in that transition where they’re trying to renew the team.
“They’re trying to not be as reliant on Mo Salah, even though Salah’s still brilliant, but they’re not being as reliant on him, and that’s going to take time.
“So that’s the reason they paid so much for him. He was in demand because Bayern absolutely wanted him.
“Leverkusen didn’t want to let him go, so that played into it as well, and you’re also buying potential because he’s still in his early 20s with a lot of room to grow.”
