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It hasn't been a club season to remember so far for Liverpool and Premier League record signing Florian Wirtz, who is still without a goal and an assist through his first 10 games with his new club.
Regardless, he remains a key cog in coach Julian Nagelsmann's attack for the German national team. While he again failed to nab a goal involvement in the side's 4-0 World Cup qualifying win over Luxembourg, Wirtz did impress.
Last international window, the 22-year-old attacking midfielder banged in an impressive free-kick in Germany's 1-0 win over Northern Ireland. He almost repeated the trick against Luxembourg, but his 62nd-effort instead rattled off the crossbar after clearing the wall.
Liverpool, of course, already has a regular free-kick taker: Dominik Szoboszlai. The Hungarian has emerged as the team's primary dead-ball specialist following the summer transfer of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Wirtz finished the contest with five shots, four key passes, one big chance created, and 95 touches while completing 88% (65) of his 77 pass attempts. Captain Joshua Kimmich found the back of the net twice (on a penalty). Serge Gnabry and David Raum joined him on the scoresheet as the Germans continued to shake off a shock early qualifying loss against Slovakia.
Despite his shaky club form, Gnabry revealed that he thinks Wirtz seems to be doing well. "We all try to help each other as teammates, especially the ones in a difficult situation," the German winger said. "I don’t have the impression that Flo is not doing well."
"He’s laughing and training well. Nobody doubts his qualities, and he shouldn’t either. Give the guy some time, it was a big move – but he has huge qualities and I’m certain that he will succeed."
Wirtz has started eight of his 10 games with the Reds since joining from Bayer Leverkusen (along with Jeremie Frimpong) in an early summer blockbuster transfer.
His 0.34 non-penalty expected goals + expected assists per 90 tally is the lowest league mark since the 2020/21 Bundesliga campaign (when he was still only 17 years old).
Wirtz tallied double-digit goals and assists in his domestic league each of the last two years, capturing the Bundesliga's 2023/24 Player of the Year award as Leverkusen finished unbeaten and top of the table.
The attacking midfielder has now secured 34 caps for the German national team, scoring eight goals. He missed the 2022 World Cup recovering from an ACL injury but played a starring role for the side at the 2024 EURO championships on home soil.
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