Liverpool summer signing Florian Wirtz could be given the chance to leave Anfield as early as next year with Real Madrid interested, according to reports.
The Germany international signed from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer for an initial £100m with another £16m due in add-ons if Liverpool are successful while Wirtz is at Anfield.
Liverpool spent a lot of money on other signings too with Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Alexander Isak and Giovanni Leoni all arriving.
The most was potentially expected of Wirtz with the German having the reputation as being one of the most exciting young players in world football.
But the Liverpool attacking midfielder is yet to provide a goal or an assist in his first ten matches for the Reds in all competitions and he was dropped to the bench for their 2-1 loss to Chelsea on Saturday.
Wirtz got double figures for both goals and assists in the Bundesliga last season and reports in Spain claim that Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso reckons he can get more out of the attacking midfielder.
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Defensa Central claims that Alonso, who managed Wirtz at Bayer Leverkusen, has ‘again called’ for Real Madrid to sign the 22-year-old after his poor start to life at Anfield.
Wirtz is already ‘upset at Liverpool’ and Alonso is ‘clear’ that the Liverpool player would give Real Madrid ‘a leap in quality’ if they could lure him away from Anfield.
The report adds:
‘These criticisms have led Xabi Alonso, aware of the need to sign a midfielder, to ask Real Madrid to keep a close eye on Florian Wirtz’s situation for next year, in case the player’s adaptation doesn’t end up being optimal and a move to the club could be considered next summer.
‘Real Madrid, who have always been keen on the German gem’s football, will follow in the footsteps of the former Bayer Leverkusen player, especially because the Toulouse native knows him very well and knows the talent he can bring to bear on the pitch , although he understands that confidence is always key for a footballer like him, something that may be affecting him at the start of this season.’
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Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville called Liverpool’s midfielders and forwards “absolutely useless” as they struggled to put pressure on Chelsea.
Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast: “Games are won by intent, teams that look like they want to win. I’m not saying Liverpool didn’t, they obviously did, but I thought that after they scored I was really disappointed by the level of their performance. A lot has been made of Liverpool’s defensive work, and rightly so, but today that’s not why they’ve lost this game.
“They’ve lost this game because in the last 15-20 minutes, their creative players, their players in the final half of the pitch, the midfielders and the forwards who were absolutely useless. They were giving the ball away like you wouldn’t believe.
“Gakpo down here, Salah over on that far side; the wastage. Wirtz not knowing how to get into a game in the last 15 minutes when it was there for the taking, and just almost sort of marking Caicedo, I was watching him a lot.”
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