Florian Wirtz: Jurgen Klopp delivers verdict on £116m Liverpool signing as promising stat emerges

Former Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp has delivered his verdict on Florian Wirtz's early-season performances for the Reds amid the £116m man's recent struggles.

The Bayer Leverkusen Invincible started as he meant to go on in a red strip, providing an assist on his debut for fellow new signing Hugo Ekitike in Liverpool's Community Shield loss to Crystal Palace.

However, Wirtz has since failed to score or assist in any of his last nine appearances for Liverpool, blanking in each of his first seven Premier League games and his last two Champions League matches.

Wirtz was also unable to directly contribute to Germany's 4-0 win over Luxembourg in Friday's World Cup 2026 qualifier, but even though he went without an involvement once again, his overall performance was hailed.

Nevertheless, the 22-year-old finds himself in the bottom half of the Liverpool power rankings after a slow start to life in England, but Klopp has no doubts that the "outstanding" playmaker will soon show the Premier League what he is capable of.

Jurgen Klopp launches staunch defence of Florian Wirtz amid Liverpool criticism

"I don’t have to worry about Florian Wirtz because his quality is so outstanding," Klopp told RTL and n-tv, as quoted by talkSPORT. "Of course, everything’s fine, and everyone knows that. The discussion [around him] is certainly being blown out of proportion.

"Liverpool have just lost three games in a row – it’s unusual for something like that to happen after such a long time. But it’s also normal in life. That’s why these things are being discussed.

"I’ve been in the middle of such discussions long enough now, and I can tell you: Nothing could interest people less than the public discussions that are taking place there. So it doesn’t matter, and everything will be fine."

Wirtz came agonisingly close to securing both a goal and assist in Germany's win over Luxembourg in midweek, as he firstly slipped a delicate pass into the path of Newcastle United's Nick Woltemade, whose touch then let him down.

The Liverpool playmaker then clipped the outside of the post with a second-half free kick, and he should be retained in the first XI when Germany travel to Northern Ireland on Monday evening.

Florian Wirtz: The statistic that offers Liverpool fans Premier League hope

Even though Wirtz had no goal or assist to show for his efforts against Luxembourg, he ended the game with the second-highest Sofascore rating of 8.7, only below the perfect 10 awarded to two-goal Joshua Kimmich.

The Germany international created a total of four chances and registered five shots on the night, although he also failed to win any of his four ground duels.

However, it was Wirtz's ingenuity that caught the eye, and even though he is still waiting for his first Premier League contribution, the statistics suggest that it will not be too long before he makes the net bulge or sets up a teammate.

Indeed, the Liverpool attacker already sits in the top 10 of players for average shot-creating actions per game in the 2025-26 Premier League season, registering 4.48 per 90.

Only Bruno Fernandes, Jeremy Doku, Bukayo Saka, Elliot Anderson, Jack Grealish and Amad Diallo average more SCAs per 90 than Wirtz, who is the only Liverpool player inside the top 10 of that particular category.