#florian-wirtz

#florian-wirtz

Sport Bild: Have you ever thought that Florian Wirtz might have been better off at FC Bayern? Eberl: "We made it clear in all our discussions that we would have loved to have him at FC Bayern and that he would have been a great fit for us. Florian then chose Liverpool. I wish him all the best in representing German football in the Premier League."

Wirtz is a problem. Let's just call it as it is. It's an issue. He's 100m+, and to be fair, I said a few weeks ago [Milos] Kerkez looked like a little boy out there. Today, I thought Wirtz looked like a little boy. That can't be the case.

Manchester City is one of the most difficult challenges you have playing away in a season. It's a very interesting game to look forward to. When I wasn't working here and was in the Netherlands, I did know when Manchester City v Liverpool was happening and I can tell you I was 100% in front of the television when it happened. These are the few games everyone is looking forward to.

We've had statement wins ( Bayern Munich beating Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in Paris), end-to-end draws ( Barcelona held 3-3 by Club Brugge), some shock losses ( Pafos defeating Villarreal 1-0) and, to cap it all, a Puskas contender from Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven. This is what you get with Europe's elite club competition, and this week has provided plenty to talk about as the league phase reaches its halfway point.

Liverpool's 116million move for Florian Wirtz was one of the statement signings of the summer transfer window, as the Reds saw off rivals such as Bayern Munich and Manchester City to land the German playmaker. The move was briefly a British transfer record and although the 22-year-old - who was ranked by FourFourTwo at No.1 in a list of the game's best attacking midfielders - is yet to open his Liverpool goalscoring account, the club will be confident he will be a key player for years to come.

I love him. He's a fantastic player. He will be unbelievable, trust me. Hopefully, he will be patient. Hopefully, he'll have good people around him, agent, family, whatever. Hopefully, the coach sees his quality like everybody sees him. I'm sure that everybody sees his quality, and they'll give him that time that he needs to fit into the team. And I guarantee you, he's going to be a success.