Florian Wirtz must embrace new Andoni Iraola era as Liverpool seek transfer return

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Paul Gorst assesses the situation around Florian Wirtz as the Liverpool midfielder begins his World Cup campaign with GermanyIf the appointment of Andoni Iraola is a clean slate for the entire Liverpool squad, few might feel as ready for a fresh start as Florian Wirtz.The Germany international, comparatively, was perhaps one of the Reds' better performers last term during a difficult campaign that saw them scrape home in the race for Champions League qualification.But that is something of a low bar given how much Liverpool struggled under Arne Slot after winning their first five games of the campaign. Twelve league defeats and 20 across all competitions summed it all up.And while it would be unfair to say Wirtz was particularly poor, it cannot be argued that things have gone as he would have wanted to date.It's 12 months now since Liverpool handed over an initial £100m to Bayer Leverkusen for the jewel of German football.

That, at the time, was a club record fee, with a further £16m in bonuses payable around how successful the playmaker is at Anfield.Sold on the tactical blueprint supposedly outlined for him by Slot, Wirtz was emboldened enough to reject both Bayern Munich and Manchester City, as well as a late attempt from Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid.However, it would be fair to suggest that, for a myriad of reasons, Slot was never able to properly execute that plan for Wirtz as the Reds struggled from September onwards.Seven goals and eight assists was a modest return for such a vaunted player but Liverpool retain the belief that they have one of the most talented No.10s in world football. It's also fair to point out that the early adaptation process was thrown off course by the tragic passing of Diogo Jota in July.Wirtz arrived to a club in mourning when he joined up for pre-season last summer but fellow new signing and good friend Jeremie Frimpong did at least make that process somewhat easier.The Reds viewed Wirtz in the same bracket of £75m Virgil van Dijk and £65m Alisson Becker, who were world-record fees for players in their positions in January and July of 2018, respectively.Both Van Dijk and Alisson were signed at enormous cost to become transformational signings that would catapult Liverpool towards the game's biggest honours.

Eight years later, it's fair to say both have done exactly that.That is the sort of return the Reds are seeking on their investment in Wirtz.A new system, a different style of football and an aggressive, front-footed approach that is aided by pace either side of him should allow the 23-year-old to truly showcase next season why he arrived with such a gilded reputation last year.The World Cup, which sees Germany kick off their Group E campaign against debutants Curacao in Houston, Texas, is a chance for Wirtz to strut his stuff on the big stage this summer and offer a reminder, to those who need it, just what a talent he is.It can also act, crucially for Liverpool, as a balm to the troubles of last season on Merseyside and a strong showing Stateside could yet see Wirtz return to a new era at Anfield with the sort of spring in his step that made the club break the bank for his services last year.Choose Liverpool Echo as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.