Iraola Defends Wirtz Amid Liverpool Form Criticism
Liverpool's head coach says Florian Wirtz should be judged like any player, rejecting calls to lower expectations for the £116m signing after a goalless start.
Andoni Iraola has told Florian Wirtz's critics to judge him the way they would any other player.
Wirtz, signed by Bayer Leverkusen from a lower club last summer for a fee worth up to £116m, has yet to score this season and has one assist to his name. He struggled to settle in his first campaign at BayArena too, finishing with seven goals and 10 assists in 49 appearances across all competitions.
Jurgen Klopp, who this week called Wirtz up for Germany, said supporters should stop expecting "special moments" from him. Klopp said the 23-year-old had covered more ground than any other Liverpool player this season and argued the team's results, not individual moments, should be the measure.
Iraola was speaking on Friday to preview Bournemouth's Premier League fixture against Liverpool at the Vitality Stadium. He used the briefing to back Ronald Araujo, who has become Barcelona's first-choice centre-back. Iraola said he wants the Uruguay international to learn English to communicate better with teammates, praising the humility Araujo has shown after losing his place at Barcelona last season and describing him as playing more minutes than expected.
Wirtz will be looking to open his goal account for Bayer Leverkusen this weekend.
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Sources 3
- Andoni Iraola sends fresh Florian Wirtz Liverpool plea after Jurgen Klopp warning mirror.co.uk
- Andoni Iraola hits back at Florian Wirtz criticism over Liverpool form: ‘He is helping us in a lot of different areas’ independent.co.uk
- Andoni Iraola hits back at Florian Wirtz criticism over Liverpool form: ‘He is helping us in a lot of different areas’ sports.yahoo.com