Florian Wirtz sent 'savvy' Liverpool message as second season prediction made

Former Liverpool playmaker Steve McManaman backs Florian Wirtz to showcase what he is all about this season at Anfield

Florian Wirtz has been tipped to deliver under Andoni Iraola at Liverpool this season, by former Reds star Steve McManaman.

Wirtz endured a difficult maiden campaign at Anfield last season following his £116m summer switch from Bayer Leverkusen as Arne Slot's side finished poorly before the head coach was sacked on May 30.

Germany international Wirtz scored seven goals and created eight assists in his maiden term on Merseyside but it was year to forget for the Reds as they lost 20 in all competitions and ended up squeezing into the fifth Champions League spot on the final day of the season.

Now being coached by Iraola after the Basque boss replaced Slot in early June, former England playmaker McManaman says Wirtz's style of resonates with him as he challenged the 23-year-old to now show what he is really capable of at Liverpool.

"In terms of who I'm most looking forward to seeing in a Liverpool shirt this season, at the moment it's the players we brought in last year," McManaman told Seven, powered by Ladbrokes.

"You know, I was really excited with the Florian Wirtz signing, and they've had a bit of bad fortune with the likes of Hugo Ekitike, Alexander Isak and Giovanni Leoni being out with a bad injury at such a young age.

"But it's people like Florian who I'm really looking forward to seeing more of. When he was in the Bundesliga with Leverkusen, I really enjoyed watching him; he's my style of player.

"He does some lovely things on the ball, he just never did enough of them last year. I'm hoping that now he's coming into his second season in the Premier League, he'll really strengthen up.

"I don't necessarily mean physically, but just all-round, I'm hoping he'll get savvy to the Premier League, its strength and its intensity. I'd like to think he can put a mark on the season, because I love the way he plays football."

McManaman added: "I really liked Andoni Iraola before he came to Liverpool, to be honest. I've always liked his style of football and thought he did a brilliant job at Bournemouth - no one can argue that.

"He stepped down from that role and was speaking to Bayer Leverkusen and quite close to AC Milan for a while, so I think Liverpool felt if they were going to get him, this summer was the right time to make their move.

"You know, you don't like seeing a manager losing their job, as Arne Slot did, but if they thought Andoni was a step up, and that he'd give the club a new lease of life, playing a different style of football - a more attacking style which the fans demanded - then you'd have to say it was the right appointment."

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