Former Watford star and current pundit Troy Deeney was not happy with Florian Wirtz’s performance in Liverpool’s 1-0 win over the Cherries.
Troy Deeney interviewed talk about sports After the game he expressed his views on the German midfielder.
“He doesn’t look like he belongs in this league,” he said. “I mean, he’s obviously talented; obviously he’s got the technical ability.”
“But it’s like he doesn’t believe he’s going to score goals and he doesn’t believe he’s going to influence the game. Liverpool need more from him.”
Deeney further pointed out how Wirtz’s hesitation affected the team’s energy on the pitch:
“The rest of the team started to be in disbelief because every time the pass went to him, the tempo would slow down. When they came back, the whole thing would slow down. Iolaura, who was right in front of us, was absolutely furious.”
Florian Wirtz yet to justify Liverpool’s price tag
The harsh assessment comes as Wirtz continues to struggle to justify his huge price tag following his move from Bayer Leverkusen.
Although the Germany international showed his superb technical ability, his performance was just Played 55 games for Liverpool, scoring 7 goals and assisting 11 timesleading to growing impatience among experts and supporters.
Wirtz struggled to be decisive in the first half of Sunday’s game at Vitality Stadium but was eventually substituted in the 71st minute.
Jamie Carragher also pointed to the playmaker’s lack of output in his commentary, describing his first-half performance as “nothing”.
While manager Andoni Iraola pointed to Wirtz’s minor involvement in the build-up to Alexander Isak’s winning goal, Deeney’s brutal criticism highlighted the growing pressure on the 23-year-old to perform consistently in the Premier League.