Barcelona Tracking Florian Wirtz as Liverpool Await Consistent Breakthrough

Off the back of a strong international break with Germany, looking closer to the form and quality that he showed for years in the Bundesliga, Liverpool's Florian Wirtz will be looking to hit the ground running and prove the ever-increasing number of doubters he has wrong in the next few weeks and months ahead.

Much of the talk and conversation going into this three-week international break was whether or not former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp could get the best out of struggling big-money signing Florian Wirtz.

Wirtz has been at the centre of a significant amount of criticism in recent weeks, with fans and pundits speculating that this may be a signing that the Reds look back on with a lot of regret in the coming years.

However, for his national team, it offered the German playmaker a new opportunity. Iconic manager Jurgen Klopp was now in charge, and given his tremendous success throughout his managerial career, especially at Anfield, in getting the most out of every player at his disposal.

There was hope that Klopp could find a role that could breed some fresh confidence into Florian Wirtz's game.

While Germany as a whole were steady rather than spectacular during their four Nations League group stage games, Liverpool's number seven did impress.

The notable game was the one against Serbia, where Wirtz would play a pivotal role in the home side's opener in Munich, before scoring a goal himself, capping off an all-round brilliant performance from the £116 million player.

Now, it was only one performance, but with Klopp deploying Wirtz in a secondary striker role, alongside Nick Woltemade, could this be a blueprint for Andoni Iraola and Liverpool to follow when the 23-year-old returns to Merseyside?

This glimmer of form has not stopped rumours from circulating in recent days surrounding the future of Florian Wirtz at Liverpool, with some going as far as to name a club who have been tracking the attacking midfielder through his time at Bayer Leverkusen and the Reds.

According to SPORTBILD, Florian Wirtz is a player who has been on the radar of FC Barcelona for several years, with the Catalan club never dropping their interest in the player, despite his move to England.

The case of Florian Wirtz is going to continue to be talked about until either the German clicks in a Red shirt and starts showing everyone why Liverpool paid £116 million for him just over two years ago, or LFC decide that it isn't going to work out and they move him on.

If the club were to decide to do the latter, it is easy to see why the likes of Barcelona would be interested in trying Wirtz in La Liga. The Spanish top flight is less physical and allows players to express their technical quality with more freedom, a skill set that would suit the German very well.

But for now, Florian Wirtz remains a Liverpool player, and as we edge closer to club football returning, every fan of the Anfield-based side should be putting their full support behind Florian Wirtz and Andoni Iraola in the hope that they can get the playmaker playing his best football.