There has been an onslaught of talk surrounding Wirtz following his slow start to his career at the Premier League champions following his €125m move from Bayer Leverkusen. 

Klopp on Liverpool’s summer signing:

Everyone continues to give their thoughts on the 22-year-old’s start to his time in England, from Julian Nagelsmann to Rudi Völler. Now, former Liverpool manager Klopp has weighed in on the current hot topic: 

“I don’t have to worry about Florian Wirtz because his quality is so outstanding. Of course, everything is fine, and everyone knows that. The discussion is certainly being blown out of proportion. Liverpool have just lost three games in a row – it’s unusual for something like that to happen after such a long time. But it’s also normal in life. That’s why these things are discussed. I’ve been in the middle of such discussions long enough now, and I can tell you: Nothing could interest people less than the public discussions that are taking place there. So it doesn’t matter, and everything will be fine. (Wirtz is) a once-in-a-century talent, and at some point he’ll show that in every game again, as he did at Leverkusen. (He has) a stable environment at Liverpool, and the club is great in moments like these. If anyone’s worried—you don’t have to! You can stop.”

Wirtz’s slow Liverpool start:

The reason there is so much discussion surrounding Wirtz is because of the fact that he has yet to register a goal or an assist in the Premier League or Champions League. On top of Liverpool’s recent poor run of form, the 22-year-old has been used as a scapegoat for their problems, even though most of the Premier League champions’ problems are coming from other players in the team. 

Everyone familiar with Wirtz’s style of play knows that once it clicks, he will be fine. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan

For Nagelsmann, and indeed many football nerds, Wirtz’s performance thus far at the Premier League champions has been severely underrated. Irrespective of which statistics aggregator one turns to, Wirtz still possesses decent expected goals (xG) and expected assist (xA) totals. 

It’s not entirely certain which source Nagelsmann drew upon when speaking on Wirtz last night, but one assumes that the ultra-modern “metric-centric” footballing guru and his coaching staff did their research with regard to Wirtz’s sluggish Premier League start. 

“He is still the player who creates the most chances in the Premier League,” Nagelsman remarked last night at the post-match press conference. “If the player doesn’t convert the chances, it’s bad for his statistics. But that’s not even one third of the truth.

“Flo is a player who knows what he can do and how things work in football,” Nagelsmann continued. “He had to work hard to get where he is. We know how things work: as soon as he scores three goals, he’ll be the king of all summer transfers. Right now, he’s an expensive addition, but that doesn’t weigh on him.”

Nagelsmann went on to discuss the specifics of Wirtz’s performance last night. Wirtz – like he did against Northern Ireland in September – nearly converted a free-kick. A 62nd-minute dead ball effort from Wirtz struck the post. Fine passes to Leon Goretzka (16th) and Nick Woltemade (33rd) also deserved assists.

“He did well and tried a lot,” Nagelsmann said of Wirtz’s overall game. “He was unlucky in a few situations, but can’t be blamed for that.“

Prior to kick-off in Sinsheim last night, Wirtz was awarded a trophy commemorating his selection as Kicker Magazine’s “Footballer of the Year“. Wirtz edged out Bayern attacking sensation Michael Olise and his fellow new Premier League arrival Woltemade to earn the award. 

GGFN | Peter Weis

After impressing off the bench in three consecutive matches under new B04 head coach Kasper Hjlumand, Poku appears to have earned a regular starting spot. The former AZ Alkmaar man has started on the left-hand-side of the top attacking axis in the last Bundesliga and Champions League fixtures.

Poku is also on a roll, scoring in his last two Bundesliga appearances. Transfermarkt reports that Poku is in line for an October upgrade. The youngster’s estimated market value will be tripled from €4m to €12m. For the moment Poku is spending the October international break with the Dutch U21s. 

Although Poku has been representing Holland since the U16 level and – following a strong U21 European championship this summer – nears the top Dutch level, it’s worth noting that he remains a native of Hamburg who lived in the Hanseatic city state for the first seven years of his life. 

Poku still understands some German and scored his first Bundesliga goal in his hometown against St. Pauli. In an interview with Holland’s Voetbalzone, Poku seemed open to making the country of his new club employer his new national allegiance. 

“That would be entirely possible, but at the moment I’m just focusing on the Oranje,” Poku told the online portal. “Whatever happens, happens. I was glad to score my first Bundesliga goal in Hamburg. I work hard every day and give my best at Leverkusen and Jong Oranje.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

This has proven not to be the case. The 24-year-old is musing aloud about tomato smoothies, the nature of reality versus dreams, and writing things such as “Even if rain forgets umbrella, fish can’t drive bicycle because moon and bread don’t share the same Wifi.” This is to say nothing of Boniface’s dating advice, imploring men to stick with “at most, three women. Four if you are going through a lot.“

For whatever it’s worth, most professionals associated with the club are attempting to keep their sense of humor about it. New Werder acquisition Yukinari Sugawara – a Japanese international from the land of the haiku – responded to Boniface’s post about “fish and bicycles” by saying “I’m learning from you.” SVW captain Marco Friedl laughed off the posts with a “whatever he says” shrug.

Werder chief personnel executive Clemens Fritz humorously referred to the posts as “abstract art” on a local newscast. Bremen coach Horst Steffen – who has praised the forward’s quality in addition to criticizing Boniface’s form – still declared himself content with his player’s latest substitute appearance. Boniface logged nine minutes in the weekend win over St. Pauli and did come close to scoring his first Bremen goal. 

“Victor has been putting his work in,” Steffen remarked at the post match press conference. “He was a few centimeters off [on a chance at 90+4]. I wasn’t dissatisfied with him.“

“He has a nose for goal, but must continue to work,” SV licensing head Peter Niemeyer added in the mixed zone. “Every training session will help him continue to improve. It’s clear that he’s not yet where we want him to be yet.”

GGFN | Peter Weis

The story, according to Kofane’s professional representative Eric Depolo, is actually quite simple. Kofane sent Brys a WhatsApp message this summer explaining that he would prefer to focus on his new Bundesliga club and Champions League duties. Brys, per Depolo, never officially responded to this message. Meanwhile, invitations from the Cameroonian FA (FECAFOOT) continued to arrive in September and October.

Depolo claims that his client is being caught in a tug-of-war between Brys and FECAFOOT president Samuel Eto’o, who also runs West African media conglomerate RSI. Depolo has made statements to both Kicker and RSI in the last 48 hours. Kofane’s agent wishes to emphasize that his client isn’t disinterested in representing Cameroon at all.

The youngster – who doesn’t have a lot of professional experience – simply needs more time. It was only a little over one year ago that Kofane was still working with a Cameroonian academy AS Nylon before moving to Spanish Segunda outfit Albacete. The teenager’s move to the first division in one of Europe’s top five leagues counts as a big step. 

“It was a big leap for Kofi to move from Africa to the Bundesliga,” Depolo told Kicker journalists Stephan van Nocks and Martin Roser. “The lad needs to focus on his new project with Bayer Leverkusen and use the international breaks to recover. If we don’t take care of the boy, it could break him.

“We informed the national coach [about Christian’s decision], but he never replied,” Depolo continued. “The association [FECAFOOT] understood. He will join the national team, but step-by-step. He still has plenty of time. He can join the national team next year or in another two or three years.“

Asked how long Kofane’s abstention from the national team would continue, Depolo replied “the entire season“. This ostensibly means that Kofane will not be available for selection during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in January 2026. 

GGFN | Peter Weis

Kofane moved to his current Bundesliga outfit from Spanish Segunda side Albacete Balompié after a protracted and messy set of negotiations this summer. The teenage talent turned in a very strong training camp and earned two appearances under previous B04 head coach Erik ten Hag.

Kofane scored a goal and registered an assist in Leverkusen’s opening round Pokal victory. In his first start for die Werkself, also under ten Hag, Kofane added an assist in a matchday two 3-3 draw with Werder Bremen.

Kofane moved up the Bayer depth chart when Nigerian international Victor Boniface was loaned out to Werder. Schick’s injury thus thrust the young talent immediately into the spotlight. Kofane has taken full advantage of his shot. 

Since taking over for Schick as the starting center-forward under head coach Kasper Hjulmand, Kofane has scored a goal in both of his starts; a Champions League draw with PSV Eindhoven and a matchday six win over Union Berlin. 

Whether or not Kofane shall end up representing his country at either the January Africa Cup of Nations or the coming summer World Cup in the USA remains to be seen. For the time being, Kofane apparently doesn’t wish to distract himself from his massive breakthrough at the club level. 

GGFN | Peter Weis

The 22-year-old joined Liverpool in the summer from Bayer Leverkusen for €125m, but, due to the high fee, he has been used as a scapegoat for Liverpool’s recent struggles, as he has yet to score or assist in the Premier League. 

However, Völler, who knows Wirtz from his time at Leverkusen, has pointed out why the forward may be struggling in England: 

“I deliberately watched a few Liverpool games with him: He does an incredible amount, runs a lot, sprints a lot, and also drops deep. But he doesn’t get passed to the way he was used to in Leverkusen or the national team. You have to work on that over the course of weeks and months,” 

Later adding:

“I know he’s not one of those divas in his position who stand still and hang their heads after missing three passes. Florian isn’t like that. He’s not only an exceptional footballer, but he also has a superb character. He’ll always give it his all from the first to the last minute, always going for it. He also has incredible running stats. He’ll prevail.”

Wirtz’s early Liverpool form:

In the past week, the defending champions have lost three games in the Premier League and Champions League. However, despite failing to register a goal or an assist, Wirtz has managed 21 chances created in the English top flight. While in Liverpool’s 2-1 loss to Chelsea at the weekend, the 22-year-old came on at halftime and was one of the better Liverpool players. 

Despite his slow start to the season, Wirtz himself is also not fazed and is aware that there is an adaptation period when it comes to moving to the Bundesliga and Premier League. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan 

Hamburg Make Mince Meat of Mainz 

Hamburg made it back-to-back home wins as they battered Mainz 05 4-0 on Sunday afternoon. HSV were on top from the first minute and found themselves 2-0 up after just nine minutes thanks to goals from Albert Sambi Lokonga and Rayan Philippe. Philippe would add to his first goal in the second half, bringing his tally for the season to three goals from six games. The forward had a failed move to Mainz in the summer and mocked the situation with his celebration by mimicking a phone call. 

HSV head coach Merlin Polzin opted for a new 3-4-3 formation, and it worked a treat against a side that was so successful last campaign. 

“We’re progressing and one can see that in our play with the ball and against the ball. We’ve more steps to take, but one senses – and this is vitally important – that the team is finding out who they are and the connections are getting better. The players need to feel it on the pitch,” explained Polzin. 

HSV move up to 9th in the Bundesliga, whilst Mainz drop to 16th. 

Bayern Breeze Past Frankfurt

Ahead of this one, it was billed as Bayern’s first big test this season. However, when Bayern went 0-1 up after 17 seconds through Luis Díaz, it was anything but a real test. 

Bayern once again dominated and showed just how powerful their forward line is this season. Vincent Kompany’s side went 0-2 before the break through a Harry Kane curled effort from 20 meters out. If you haven’t seen the goal already, I urge you to take a look. 

Diaz added to his first-half goal late into the second half to make sure that Bayern go six wins from six games in the Bundesliga. 

“I don’t think these games should be used as a yardstick to evaluate the boys right now,” Toppmöller insisted when conducting a post-match interview with Sky Germany after the match. “It’s important for us to know that we still have a little room for improvement in order to compete at this level.”

“No one has been able to keep up with Bayern at their level thus far [this year],” Toppmöller continued, adding special praise for Harry Kane’s distance effort that made it 0-2 in the 27th minute. “That was a typical Bayern goal and Harry Kane’s finish was simply world-class.”

For Frankfurt, it’s now 12 goals conceded in four games in all competitions. There’s no question that Frankfurt have an excellent team, but right now, their defensive displays will be worrying head coach Dino Toppmöller. Bayern stay top as Frankfurt drop out of the European places for the first time this season (7th).  

Dortmund Leipzig Stalemate 

Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig played a rather dull 1-1 draw that was billed as “the battle of the Bayern chasers”. In fact, the final xG stats (Dortmund 0.88, Leipzig 1.05) illustrate that the final scoreline was even a little generous. 

Dortmund remain undefeated this season ahead of their showdown with Bayern after the international break. Leipzig, meanwhile, continue their undefeated run since being battered by Bayern on opening night. 

In truth, both teams will probably be satisfied with the draw as Dortmund and Leipzig stay 2nd and 3rd, respectively. 

Around The Grounds

Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, FC Heidenheim still remains bottom following a 1-0 loss to VfB Stuttgart. The Swabians scored the winner just past the hour mark from time to add even more misery on Frank Schmidt’s side. Heidenheim stay bottom, whilst Stuttgart shoot up into 4th. 

Bayer Leverkusen have put their early-season woes behind them as they go 5th with a 2-0 win against Union Berlin. It’s the first time that B04 has registered back-to-back Bundesliga wins this season as new head coach Kasper Hjulmand looks to be making a positive impact on his squad. 

Borussia Mönchengladbach still remain winless going into the international break after a 0-0 draw against SC Freiburg. Despite that and amid all the administrative turmoil at Borussia Mönchengladbach, interim head coach Eugen Polanski has been given the green light to continue his audition on the sidelines.

There were also wins for FC Köln (0-1 vs TSG Hoffenheim), Werder Bremen (1-0 vs St. Pauli), and FC Augsburg (3-1 vs VfL Wolfsburg). 

GGFN | Jamie Allen

Grimaldo collided with teammate Christiane Kofane in the 45th-minute. The 30-year-old incurred a facial laceration and clearly seemed dazed for a few minutes. Leverkusen head coach Kasper Hjulmand didn’t prepare a substitution for Grimaldo immediately. Through nine minutes of added time, no B04 player replaced Grimaldo. 

Grimaldo was only officially subbed off at the restart. Leverkusen’s Malik Tillman confirmed to Sky Germany after the match that Hjulmand wanted Grimaldo inspected closer in the locker room before taking off the man he had tapped to don the captain’s armband on the afternoon.

Hjulmand has made clear that the Spaniard is set to take on a greater leadership tole than the man his predecessor Erik ten Hag named skipper, Robert Andrich.

“Grimaldo wanted to keep playing,” Tillman told Sky after the match. “But the coach decided otherwise.” 

“Everything is fine,” Grimaldo himself added in the mixed zone. “It’s just a cut.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

Saturday afternoon saw the turn of Augsburg vs Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen hosting Union Berlin, St.Pauli travelling to Werder Bremen, and the standout game of the afternoon being Borussia Dortmund vs RB Leipzig. 

Here are the three things we learnt:

Borussia Dortmund struggle in their first big Bundesliga test:

Dortmund went down early on against RB Leipzig thanks to a Christoph Baumgartner opener, but they were able to rally and equalise through Yan Couto. However, apart from that, die Schwarzgelben struggled to impose themselves on the visitors. 

Via FotMob, Dortmund failed to register a big chance against Leipzig, and it looked as if their attacks struggled to get into the game, compared to the likes of Johan Bakayoko, Yan Diomande and Romulo for Leipzig. This could have potentially been the type of game to bring Carney Chukwuemeka on for, but instead, he remained on the bench. 

Simply put, Leipzig were just the better side on both the defensive and attacking ends. This could be because they did not have a midweek game, while Dortmund played Athletic Club. 

Dortmund can’t afford to get hung up on this result for too long, as after the international break, they face Bayern Munich. Considering that the Bavarians could go four points clear of them following today’s result, it will be a game they have to bring their best. 

However, as things stand, Dortmund will look like the only side that can come close to challenging Bayern this season. 

Bayer Leverkusen’s young attackers shine:

The wealth of attacking quality at Leverkusen’s disposal had failed to make their mark in the opening games of the season, but against Union Berlin, a rather unexpected pair took centre stage. 

Both Ernest Poku and Christian Kofane were the standouts for Leverkusen this afternoon. The former used his pace to help die Werkself counter Union, while Kofane was sharp enough to latch on to a Fredrick Ronnow mistake to score his first Bundesliga goal for the club. 

This was much needed for Levekrusen, as for much of the early stages of the season, they had to rely on Alejandro Grimaldo. The likes of Malik Tillman, Eliesse ben Seghir and Claudio Echeverri will still need to show their quality in the coming weeks. 

Kofane will be especially important in the absence of Patrik Schick, as there is no other recognised striker in the squad. 

The international break has come at the right time for Leverkusen. They currently sit fourth in the Bundesliga, but can now use the next two weeks to adjust to Kasper Hjulmand, as this will be the first extended period the Dane has with the team. After the international break, they face Mainz, and that should present a different-looking Leverkusen. 

Augsburg put some doubts to rest:

Heading into their game against Wolfsburg, Augsburg had not won a Bundesliga game since the opening day against Freiburg. This resulted in doubts starting to surface about head coach Sandro Wagner, but those were laid to rest today. 

Against the Autostadt side, Augsburg put in a commanding display winning 3-1, with Mert Kömur the standout player. The performance was reminiscent of their win against Freiburg in terms of the fact that they were clinical when it came to their finishing. There is still yet to be a clear sign of a style of play, but that will likely come with more time.

On Kömur, the 20-year-old was called up to the Germany under-21 national team. Considering he can also qualify for Turkey, the DFB must make sure they don’t experience the same fate they did with Can Uzun and Kenan Yildiz, and give Turkey their front three for the next generation. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan