Overview

• Germany sporting director Rudi Völler said Wirtz is not being found on the ball as he was at Bayer Leverkusen or with the national team and stressed he will need weeks and months to build those patterns.
• Arne Slot left Wirtz out of the starting XI at Chelsea before bringing him on at half-time in a 2-1 defeat that marked Liverpool’s third straight loss and cost them top spot to Arsenal.
• Wirtz has yet to register a Premier League goal or assist after seven league outings and has made ten appearances in all competitions for Liverpool, with a single assist in the Community Shield.
• Bastian Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm, Lothar Matthäus and Michael Ballack publicly backed the 22-year-old, calling him an exceptional talent who will come good in England.
• The club-record signing, reported at around £116 million and cited up to €150 million in Germany, joins the national team for World Cup qualifiers after scoring a free-kick for Germany in the previous international window.