8 hours ago
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Former Premier League midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker has suggested that Arne Slot should utilize Florian Wirtz in the No. 10 role, following his early struggles at Liverpool after his summer transfer from Bayer Leverkusen.
The German international showed promise in the initial stages of the Community Shield defeat to Crystal Palace at the start of the season, setting up Hugo Ekitike for the opening goal within just four minutes. However, Oliver Glasner's team would rally and ultimately win the trophy on penalties.
Since then, the creative midfielder has had a bit of a rough patch. Wirtz hasn't scored or assisted since then, leading to questions about how the Liverpool manager can maximise the 22-year-old's potential.
"I don't feel that Arne Slot has found the right way to put him in this Liverpool side with other players around him," Reo-Coker told CBS Sports following Liverpool's loss to Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday.
"He's a No. 10 for me. He's a No. 10 that has to be behind the striker. You have to have him in the middle of the pitch on the half turn and make things happen.
"I'll make a comparison to Eze at Arsenal - very similar. Eze is at his best when he's in the No. 10 role. Florian Wirtz has to be a No. 10.
"For me, you have to start putting a bit more responsibility on these players. They're not performing, really and truly.
"He's one of the players that has gone to the club, you talk about creativity and making chances happen, he's not making it happen."
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher also expressed concern over the team's performance, suggesting that Wirtz should be benched.
"There's a few problems there that he's got to fix, and it'll be really interesting how he goes about it because he's spent a lot of money on certain players," he said.
"But right now, I don't think the balance of the team is right, and the obvious one that stands out right now is Florian Wirtz. He's just not at the races at all. He's a young boy coming into a new league. He's got plenty of time to go as a Liverpool player.
"But right now, I think he needs to come out of the team, Liverpool get back to what they were last season, and then go from there and try and build some confidence and build some defensive solidity because right now, it just looks a mess."
When questioned about Liverpool's difficulties in scoring, Slot responded: "For me it was a different loss to the one we had against Palace because there was a lot more to like, especially in the first half.
"In the second half it became harder and harder for us to create because first of all they were fighting with all they had and you have to give credit to them, and secondly the ball was hardly in play in the second half."
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