What Florian Wirtz did on international duty proves Arne Slot is using him wrongly at Liverpool

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Liverpool broke the bank to sign Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, but so far, the German has struggled to translate his quality across to the Premier League. The 22-year-old has failed to register a goal or an assist in any of his nine appearances, and with the massive price tag weighing him down, Jamie Carragher has claimed Wirtz is a ‘problem’ for Liverpool.

Credit: ImagoArne Slot needs to try Florian Wirtz on the left wing more oftenWirtz has predominantly been used as a number 10 since moving to Anfield, and while that was his preferred position at Leverkusen, he has created an imbalance in the Liverpool system. Wirtz has already revealed his favourite positionWirtz has mainly been used centrally throughout his professional career, with 103 goal involvements in 168 appearances as an attacking midfielder.

Florian Wirtz played asAppearances Goals Assists Attacking Midfield1684855Centre-Forward1144Right Winger1143Left Winger923Central Midfield5–3According to Wirtz himself, being deployed as a number 10 behind the striker is his favourite position, with his former coach Martin Heck giving him the freedom. “He put me in the position where I have to be, like behind the striker on the No.10 and just gave me the freedom.”Wirtz’s preference perhaps points to him continuing as a central playmaker; however, with Liverpool allowing the wingers to cut inside and occupy space centrally, starting on the left flank can give him the best of both worlds.