Florian Wirtz Handed Brutal Verdict as Liverpool Target Fails to Respond After Latest Bid
Florian Wirtz is anticipated to make a move to Liverpool during the summer transfer window, with the Reds preparing a fourth offer for the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder as he represents Germany on international duty.
Wirtz has faced criticism for his display in Germany’s 2-0 loss to France during the Nations League third-place play-off. The match saw France clinch victory with goals from Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise, while Wirtz struggled to influence proceedings.
At 22 years old, Wirtz is on the verge of a high-profile transfer to Liverpool, who are reportedly ready to submit a final proposal in the region of £118 million. Amid Liverpool’s continued discussions with Bayer Leverkusen, Wirtz delivered a below-par performance against France.
The attacking midfielder was unsuccessful in his attempts to bypass Chelsea full-back Malo Gusto and squandered a key opportunity to level the score in the first half, striking the post. According to German outlet Bild, Wirtz received a rating of four for his efforts.
“Another performance with both highlights and shadows from the Leverkusen player,” they wrote. “A weak free kick into the wall.
“Missed the chance to make it 1-0 after 36 minutes because his shot hit the post. Not the magician, not the leader he’s often been in Leverkusen recently.”
Reflecting on the game, Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann said: “I think it was more our team than on Wednesday [against Portugal] – ball possession, counter movements, counter pressing. I think it was OK today.
“We created a lot of chances, but we have to be honest as well, it’s football. [Scoring] goals is the most important topic, and we missed a lot of chances today.
“Normally, when you create such good chances like we did in the first half, you have to get the lead, but not only one goal. Three or four could [have been] possible in the first half.
“It was similar to the feeling we had [against] Spain [in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals]. The feeling [ahead] of the qualification games is a lot better than it was on Wednesday. So, we keep on going.”
Germany defender Jonathan Tah added: “It’s a different feeling [to Wednesday] because I think we played a pretty good game today, especially in the first half. [We] deserved to score at least three goals and it hurts at this moment, because I think we deserved more at the end of this game.
“We need to have this determination and we had that in the past. It’s not the problem of two years, it’s what’s just in this game today. At the end, we played a really good team that used counterattacks, and they’re good at this. That’s how they scored. But as I said, we deserved more.”
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