How Liverpool’s transfer stance is quietly crippling Germany and Italy’s World Cup dreams through Wirtz and Chiesa
With Curtis Jones left out of the latest England squad, he remains Liverpool’s only realistic hope of making the Three Lions’ World Cup team next summer.
While that means the Reds aren’t exactly boosting Thomas Tuchel’s options for England’s campaign, they seem to be quietly helping him in another way by keeping other international sides from strengthening.
Take Federico Chiesa, for instance. The Italian winger hasn’t featured for Italy since Euro 2024.
After turning down a call-up in September, citing that he wasn’t “feeling fully fit” following a frustrating first season at Liverpool with limited minutes, he’s once again opted out of representing his country.
Italy boss Gennaro Gattuso confirmed the decision ahead of their upcoming fixtures, suggesting Chiesa still doesn’t feel ready to return.
Honestly, it’s a bit surprising that a player of Chiesa’s calibre missing back-to-back international opportunities raises questions.
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Maybe he’s prioritising his club career, or perhaps he’s just not confident about his current form. Either way, it adds an intriguing twist to Liverpool’s already complicated international picture.
“I speak with him frequently,” Gattuso remarked. “I have to respect what the player tells me, and we have to respect each other’s decisions and problems.” I am at a loss for words.
When asked who made the decision to exclude Chiesa from the squad for their pivotal matches against Moldova and Group I leaders Norway, whom they are currently three points behind, Gattuso implied that Chiesa had once again turned down a call-up.
“Yes, I’m explaining this for the fourth or fifth time already,” he continued.
It’s unclear exactly what the “problems” are, but if Chiesa wants to be at his best before rejoining the national team, he clearly doesn’t think that’s the case despite a considerable increase in playing time this season, and is highly unlikely to ever reach that point because if he can’t get into the team during a Liverpool crisis, when will he?
Florian Wirtz responded to Germany’s call for their World Cup qualifying matches against Slovakia and Luxembourg this month, and manager Julian Nagelsmann asserted that his playmaker’s subpar play is due to Liverpool’s instability.
Northern Ireland is only three points behind Germany, who are now leading Group A, but only by goal differential over Slovakia.
After the 3-0 loss to Manchester City, Wirtz was dubbed the second Liverpool “little boy” of the season by Gary Neville.
Surprisingly, he is yet to score a goal for Liverpool following his £100 million transfer from Bayer Leverkusen, recording only three assists in his 16 outings thus far.
Nagelsmann remarked, “To be honest, the entire situation does not make it easy for him either.” “This year, Liverpool as a whole is less stable than it was last year. Now, it’s much more difficult to fit in with the squad.
They were the inferior team for the ninety minutes when compared against Manchester City. Thus, Flo finds it challenging to have any significant influence.
“In the end, he simply needs a little more time, which is normal and you see that with other players who move to the English Premier League as well,” the statement reads.
Nagelsmann then urged Wirtz’s Liverpool colleagues to take advantage of the opportunities he creates.
The former Bayern Munich manager continued, “We all know what he is capable of and it is perfectly normal for a player of his age to go through a bit of a dip in form.”
“We can’t expect him to continue performing at the same level for three years in a row. Instead, we should all give him a little assistance so that he can occasionally clear his thoughts.
Liverpool might be able to assist him by scoring some of the opportunities he creates. He does create a few opportunities, so that would be one idea.
Simply said, they dislike shooting the ball in during those opportunities. That is a portion of reality.
