This is the SOLUTION to Liverpool's Florian Wirtz problem | OneFootball

It hasn't been a glittering start to Florian Wirtz's career in a Liverpool shirt.

Although it's important to say it hasn't been anywhere near as bad as the social media narrative would lead you to believe.

But some things are not working for the German in the way the Reds will have envisaged. He's not been quite as effective in the final third nor in the areas of the pitch where he thrives as he was in German.

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And this isn't just a transition from the Bundesliga to the Premier League, that has also played a role but the bigger reason why Wirtz isn't like the Bayer Leverkusen version is because of the current Liverpool system.

A system that is flawed at getting the best out of him right now because he is being asked to play a role that isn't suited to him.

What's changed?

There's a big elephant in the room that isn't being discussed as much as it should be in Liverpool circles right now. The fact is that the Reds are missing Trent Alexander-Arnold.

For so long Liverpool's system relied on the no.66, and moving on from such a pivotal player is always going to take time.

Part of the plan to replace Alexander-Arnold was to bring in Wirtz, who will add more creativity from the middle of the park.

However, Arne Slot's plans at the moment seem to be for Wirtz not only to replace Alexander-Arnold's creativity but progressive ability as well.

This is why we are seeing Wirtz dropping a lot deeper in comparison to the positions he was used to take up at Leverkusen.

Below is a graph of his current average heatmap for Liverpool on the right and his average positioning for Leverkusen on the left.

It's easy to see how Wirtz was simply taking up positions on the pitch closer to the opposition's penalty area while playing for the German side.

For Liverpool, he's barely getting into the opposition's final third, and he's often dropping even deeper to the halfway line.

Part of the thinking behind that must be a tactical ploy to get him involved in the build-up - similar to how Alexander-Arnold was used.

© Wyscout - Wirtz average position

But this isn't the type of player Wirtz is. He averaged just 5 passes into the opposition's final third last season for Leverkusen. Alexander-Arnold averaged over 12.

Wirtz creates chances, and he's a good link-up player but you have to play him higher up the pitch. The problem at the moment is that Liverpool simply cannot find him or simply don't have the system set-up for him to be able to play further forward.

As a result, he's losing the ball more often because he isn't used to playing deeper with his back to goal and often surrounded by at least two midfielders or defenders around him.

Last season, he attempted over six dribbles per 90 minutes and won over 50% of his attempts.

This season he's averaged 3.05 dribbles and has won just 37% of his attempts.

Playing with your back to goal is completely different to receiving the ball in and around the opposition's box and being able to run at defenders while facing the goal.

The best players in the world would struggle in the system and role Wirtz is being asked to play. It's an impossible job.

So, it's impressive that he's been able to make the impact that he has, ranking in the top 10 in the Premier League for chances created (10) although this will come with the caveat that a lot of the chances have come from set-pieces.

What's the solution?

In Liverpool's current system, the best way to get Wirtz in the positions where he can showcase his quality is probably playing him on the left-wing.

He often drifted to the left at Leverkusen, and at left-back Liverpool have one of the best offensive full-backs in the league in Milos Kerkez, who can hold the width of the pitch and who loves to bomb forward.

For some reason, the Hungarian is also being asked to play deeper and in a more restricted role.

What Liverpool are asking Wirtz to do simply isn't working. Slot needs a rethink, and trying to play him off the left rather than asking him to drop deep might be the best solution.

In the long-term Liverpool need a progressive passer who can play deep, either a centre-back or a holding midfielder.