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Florian Wirtz has been warned he could end up flopping like former Manchester United and Chelsea star Juan Sebastian Veron at Liverpool.
It’s been a tough start to life at Anfield for Wirtz following his record-breaking move from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer. The 22-year-old arrived with high expectations after building up a reputation as one of the world’s top players in the Bundesliga, but he has struggled to make any impact so far on the Reds.
Wirtz has just one assist from his 10 appearances for the club so far, and has not made a goal contribution since the Community Shield back in August.
The international break didn’t offer much respite either, with underwhelming performances against Luxembourg and Northern Ireland leaving more questions about how Arne Slot can get the best out of the German international.
And ex-Chelsea and Everton star Pat Nevin has suggested Wirtz could be going down the same path as Veron. United broke the Premier League transfer record for the former Argentina international back in 2001, but he would only last a couple of years before being sold to Chelsea, with both transfers considered among some of the worst in Premier League history.
“It's an interesting comparison (between Florian Wirtz and Juan Sebastian Veron) because with Juan Sebastian Veron, he failed when he came over here really, but I can't remember anyone ever saying he's not got extreme talent,” Nevin told OLBG.
“I felt the same way but English football is different and there's some players, however good you are. You can come from Italy, Spain, wherever, and you've been brilliant and you walk in an English game and it's just not for you, it just doesn't suit you.
“People say too fast, it's kind of more than that. It's the tightness of your game, the lack of space in the game, the fact it is squeezed, all these sorts of things. All of these things together don't suit certain types of players.
“Veron's a good example, he's a really good example of what might happen to Florian Wirtz if he's not careful. The difference I would say with Wirtz, although not the height of Veron because he was very tall, but he'll work harder.
“He will actually put in the miles as far as I can see. The games I've watched him when he's been okay, he's worked and it's not worked for him and he's chased and he's done that, the ugly stuff as well.”
Despite the warning, Nevin agrees with Alan Shearer in his assessment that Wirtz will eventually find his feet at Liverpool.
“We know he's got that creativity,” Nevin added. “There was a pass he played against Chelsea, the pirouette back heel and it looks brilliant and everyone thinks it's really brilliant.
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“It's way better than that. It's just way, way better than that. The technique to do that, you're talking about a handful of players in football history that I've ever seen capable of doing that pass. That good, that one pass. So the creativity's there.
“But that was there with Veron to some degree, to a big degree as well. But you need a whole package for English football, especially, and absolutely if you are the 10.
“If you are the 10, you kind of have to be the best player and it's all going through you in certain systems. It's not happening yet. He might fail. He might. I suspect he probably won't.
“And the reason is because it’s Liverpool. If you're playing for Liverpool, eventually you'll get the space there. Eventually they'll click into gear, you would suspect. But I think that's a very sensible and intelligent analogy.”
English (US) ·