Jürgen Klopp has sought to calm concerns around Liverpool’s recent dip and the adaptation of new signing Florian Wirtz.

Wirtz, signed from Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of £116 million ($154.7 million), is 22 and has yet to contribute to a goal in a competitive fixture. The midfielder’s early performances have prompted scrutiny following a run in which Liverpool lost three games in a row.

Klopp defended the player and the club’s handling of the situation, telling Sport: “With Florian Wirtz, I simply don’t have to worry because his quality is so outstanding.” He added context on the wider reaction: “The discussions are a bit exaggerated. Liverpool just lost three games in a row, which is unusual. But that’s also normal in life. And that’s why such things are discussed there. Now I’ve been in the middle of such discussions long enough and can say: Nothing could interest people there less than the public discussions.”

Offering practical advice, Klopp said: “Basically, it can’t hurt to develop a bit of a thicker skin, and that’s no different with Florian. But he has a stable environment, and the club is great in moments like these. So, if anyone’s worried: You don’t have to be, you can stop. Everything will be fine!”

Wirtz’s wait for a goal or an assist at Liverpool has drawn attention beyond the club. Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann defended the player’s contributions, saying: “Even though he hasn’t scored any goals, he is still the player who creates the most chances in the Premier League.” He added: “It’s not his fault if his teammates don’t convert them, and the statistics don’t even tell the whole story.”

A review of wider Premier League numbers in the draft does not support Nagelsmann’s specific claim. Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes leads chance creation with 19, two ahead of Everton loanee Jack Grealish. Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo has 14 chances created, while Wirtz has 11. The statistics underline the scrutiny but also the context around a player adjusting after an expensive move.

Rudi Völler has attributed Florian Wirtz’s tentative opening at Liverpool to how the playmaker is being used, rather than any loss of quality. Liverpool have lost three on the bounce in all competitions and Wirtz is yet to record a single goal contribution in a competitive fixture for his new club. He was named on the bench for their 2–1 defeat at Chelsea on Saturday afternoon.

Wirtz will now join the German national team for October World Cup qualifiers, likely adding to his 33 caps. “We’re very happy that he [Wirtz] is with us for 10 days now. I am convinced he will deliver two wonderful international matches,” Völler said of Liverpool’s struggling playmaker on Sky90.

Völler knows Wirtz from their time at Bayer Leverkusen: he served as Leverkusen’s sporting director between 2005 and 2022 and later managed the national team on an interim basis. He played 90 times for his country, won the World Cup, and spent much of his playing career away from his homeland. That experience informs his view on adaptation and tactical fit.

“The big difference is: at Bayer Leverkusen, despite the individual quality of the other players, he was always looked for,” Völler said. “Players like Granit Xhaka, Alejandro Grimaldo or Robert Andrich certainly ran the game. But the moment Florian made himself available, he always got the ball. Even as a young guy, he was already the chief.”

There is statistical evidence supporting Völler’s assessment. Wirtz’s touch count per 90 minutes has dropped to 59.1 in the Premier League from 80.3 in the Bundesliga last season and 85.3 in 2023–24. The playmaker recorded 22 league goal contributions during his final two campaigns in Germany.

“I deliberately watched some Liverpool games with him: he does an incredible amount of work, runs a lot, makes many sprints, and also goes deep, Völler continued. “But he isn’t played to in the way he was used to at Leverkusen or with the national team. That’s something that has to be developed over weeks and months.”

Völler is backing the “extraordinary” Wirtz to eventually find his groove at Anfield.

When Manchester United dismissed David Moyes ten months into his tenure, it felt at the time like a nadir in the club’s post-Ferguson history. Moyes’s reputation then needed years to rebuild. The Scot has since worked wonders at West Ham United and is once again in tune with the Toffees on Merseyside. United, meanwhile, have continued to hit new lows.

Ruben Amorim reached his 34th Premier League match at the weekend, the same number Moyes managed before his sacking and replacement by Louis van Gaal. The statistical comparison is stark.

David Moyes (34 games): 17 wins, 6 draws, 11 losses, goals 56:40, 1.68 points per match, 50% win rate.

Ruben Amorim (34 games): 10 wins, 7 draws, 7 losses, goals 41:53, 1.09 points per match, 29.4% win rate.

Amorim has recorded his tenth league victory since succeeding Erik ten Hag last November. United have drawn seven and lost seven under him and carry a negative goals record. The Portuguese averages 1.09 points per game and currently has the lowest win percentage of any Manchester United manager in Premier League history at 29.4 percent. Ralf Rangnick’s 41.7 percent is the next lowest.

For context, Graham Potter was the first Premier League manager sacked in 2025–26 after winning just 26 percent of his league games.

Moyes’s 50 percent win rate ranks joint-third-worst among United managers after Sir Alex Ferguson, though he inherited a title-winning side that needed refreshing. Amorim inherited a squad built for a previous manager and one described in the draft as laden with expensive mistakes. His preference for a 3-4-2-1 has been cited as a factor in poor results and a lack of control on and off the ball.

There have been encouraging signs. Saturday’s 2–0 win over Sunderland featured tactical tweaks, including an alternate out-of-possession shape, and produced one of the manager’s better performances.

Moyes suffered more home defeats than Amorim across their respective 34-game samples but conceded 13 fewer goals and finished with a +16 goal difference. Moyes was seventh when dismissed after a 2–0 defeat at Goodison Park. Amorim guided United to 15th last season, their worst finish since 1973–74, and they sit 12th through seven games of the current campaign.