8 hours ago
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Florian Wirtz, the young talent who joined Liverpool in a £116million deal from Bayer Leverkusen, has been tipped to reach "world class" status and potentially mirror the impact of Philippe Coutinho at Anfield.
Despite a slow start to his Reds career, with just one assist and no goals in his first nine appearances, the 22 year old is still adjusting to a new league and country, as well as a host of new teammates. Former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson sees potential in Wirtz and draws parallels between him and former crowd favourite, Coutinho.
"I can see some similarities between Florian Wirtz and Philippe Coutinho, but Phil had the end product reliably," Johnson, who shared the pitch with Coutinho for two-and-a-half years, commented. "Coutinho was short and sharp, and something would happen when he picked up the ball."
Johnson believes that Wirtz possesses similar qualities, but needs to fine-tune his game. "I think Wirtz has that in him too, but he needs to sharpen up his brain before he receives the ball so he can act quicker. There's no point just receiving the ball and making a nice little pass sideways. Anyone can do that."
He added: "Coutinho at Anfield, he always had that cutting edge more than Wirtz does right now. But look, he's come with huge pressure on him, and there's a lot of boxes he needs to tick."
Johnson concluded by saying that it will take time for Wirtz to settle in, much like Trent Alexander-Arnold at Real Madrid. "I think that's going to take some time, while he settles, just like it is with Trent Alexander-Arnold at Real Madrid. It's normal for players."
Speaking on behalf of 10bet, Johnson continued: "I think we've already seen moments from him in games where he's looked world class. You can tell from the way he angles himself, and the positions he's taking up on the pitch.
"I think not every player can pick out what he's doing just now, and once he settles in and his team-mates learn what he's doing, he'll be world class. But at some point there needs to be an end product more often than right now."
English (US) ·