Shock Florian Wirtz Liverpool exit rumours swell as pundit floats astonishing Real Madrid suggestion

Speculation that Real Madrid are giving serious thought to raiding Liverpool for Florian Wirtz in January has been given significant further weight by a former Barcelona star – but sources have underlined why the latest crazy suggestion simply does not have legs.

The Premier League champions blew the likes of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich aside this summer when paying a British record fee of £116m to bring Wirtz to Anfield – a record that ultimately stood for just 73 days after Liverpool later signed Alexander Isak for £125m from Newcastle.

While Liverpool’s raid on Bayer Leverkusen for the Germany playmaker was hailed by Premier League audiences at the time, there were some unsavoury comments to have emerged from the Bayern Munich end after they missed out on a deal.

However, Wirtz has not exactly hit the ground running at Anfield. And while he assisted a goal for Hugo Ektike in the Community Shield defeat on penalties to Crystal Palace, he has since gone nine games without a goal or assist to his name.

Having also been dropped from the starting line-up by Arne Slot for their most recent match  – a 2-1 defeat at Chelsea – speculation over Wirtz’s future at Anfield has intensified.

Bizarrely, a report on Friday suggested Real Madrid have been keeping a close eye on his progress with an eye on a potential rescue mission in 2026.

Now, those reports have been given further weight by Emmanuel Petit after the former Arsenal and Barcelona star claimed Xavi Alonso is ready to make a move to sign Wirtz on loan in January.

“I heard that Xabi Alonso wants Real Madrid to keep an eye on Florian Wirtz ahead of a possible loan in January, that’s how much he respects him as a player,” Petit told BoyleSports.

“Alonso knows his quality, many players in Germany have also defended him. Wirtz recently stated in the press that he isn’t panicking.

“He knows his quality and believes that sooner or later, it will show on the pitch.

“I hope for his sake it does, because if it doesn’t, it will be very difficult for him to cope with the pressure and criticism.”

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Liverpool will not let Wirtz leave now as pundit weighs up ‘flop’ tag

While it’s understandable that Wirtz’s mentor at Bayer, and current Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso, will be keeping an eye on his former protege’s progress, that does not mean a January signing is under consideration.

Liverpool always expected Wirtz to face a settling-in period, not least a new team and a new system, but also a new language and a new culture.

And while it’s felt he may have expected a goal or assist so far, he has perhaps been unlucky not to have one at least, with some teammates passing up some golden chances the German has created.

To that end, there is absolutely no way Liverpool want to abandon the player just yet and a January transfer is unconditionally ruled out of the equation, making Petit’s suggestion look, quite frankly, ridiculous.

TEAMtalk actually got wind of the possibility that Wirtz was facing being dropped to the subs bench ahead of the clash at Stamford Bridge, with this report in the days building up to the game explaining Slot’s reasoning.

However, our reporter Dean Jones also explained how and why Slot is prepared to adopt a patient approach with the player.

“Obviously, there is a lot of noise about Wirtz right now, but the people that matter around Liverpool seem wholly supportive of him and are making sure he is not feeling burdened by his part so far,” Jones stated.

“There is no denying it has been a slower start than he would have wanted, and there will be games coming up where he is left out of the line-up.

“But Slot is going to be very careful around his man-management of this at the moment because he does not want Wirtz to feel like he is failing….”

Part of the conundrum involves Slot working out how best to get the best from his summer buy out of the system he plays at Liverpool.

“When he was signed, there were always some question marks over exactly how he would fit into the system, and that’s definitely been part of the problem. They are trying to work it out and have to find spaces where he can thrive.

“He’s a brilliant, smart, quick-thinking player and unlocking him will take the team to a new level. But at the moment, just constantly playing him again and again does not seem to be helping them.

“I would not be surprised to see him on the bench against Chelsea or Man Utd (on October 19, after the international break). But even if that happens, Slot will make sure it is clear that he is still backing him to succeed.”

Latest Liverpool news: Reds fall back in Guehi race; Spain sensation wanted

On the subject of Wirtz, the midfielder came in for some stinging criticism and was booed by fans after his latest outing for his country in midweek, and with one publication brutally stating the star ‘didn’t succeed with anything’.

Meanwhile, Oliver Glasner has now officially confirmed that Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi will not sign a new contract at Selhurst Park and will exit the club, quite likely on a free transfer, in 2026 – but with a Sky Sports journalist revealing the three clubs all ahead of Liverpool in the transfer race.

Finally, a shock report claims that Liverpool are readying an offer worth €75m plus add-ons for a Spain winger who they want signed BEFORE his price skyrockets at next year’s World Cup.

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