Roy Keane makes Florian Wirtz prediction at Liverpool after Jamie Carragher assessment

Florian Wirtz did not have the instant impact that many people expected him to after joining Liverpool, but he has emerged as a top performer for the Reds in recent weeks

Roy Keane assessed Florian Wirtz's Liverpool career

Roy Keane believes the Premier League will start to see the best of Florian Wirtz next season.

Wirtz moved to Merseyside from Bayer Leverkusen for a huge transfer fee last summer, and faced criticism for his performances in the early part of the season.

However, his level has clearly improved in recent weeks and he is starting to establish himself as one of the most important players in Arne Slot's team.

In the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast, Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Jill Scott debated which big Premier League attacking signings from last summer have been hits and which have been misses.

Assessing Wirtz, Neville asked: "Florian Wirtz – four Premier League goals, two assists in 24 games. Has he been a hit so far, a miss, or a maybe?"

Carragher responded: "I think he's in the middle. He's a maybe. He's definitely improved." Wright added: "He done some good stuff, you can see he's coming on." Scott said: "He just needs a bit of time."

Roy Keane then drew similarities between Wirtz and another diminutive midfielder who took his time to get going in the Premier League.

"I still think it'll take him a full season to get up to speed," Keane said. "I think next year... remember when [Luka] Modric and all these boys took their time at Spurs to get used to the physicality, and he ended up playing in a two. I could not see how he (Modric) was going to become a top player."

Florian Wirtz has started to show his quality for Liverpool on a consistent basis (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Wirtz produced another impressive performance on Wednesday as Liverpool registered a 1-0 victory over Sunderland, becoming the first team to win an away league game at the Stadium of Light this season.

Virgil van Dijk scored the winning goal, but Arne Slot believes Wirtz's performance merited a goal. "Not for the first time he was really good," Slot said. But recently when he was really good he was also involved in goals and assists.

"I think today he was very close and maybe should have been on the scoreboard with the amount of quality he has.

"But it's good to see, not only him but also other players developing so well and playing another good game of football."