Xabi Alonso makes Florian Wirtz ‘request’ amid criticism of Liverpool star after record transfer

Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz has endured a slow start to life at Anfield, and it has reportedly put Real Madrid on red alert over a player they were linked with in the summer

Florian Wirtz’s challenging start at Anfield has put Real Madrid on high alert, according to Spanish media.

Real boss Xabi Alonso, who previously managed the German playmaker at Bayer Leverkusen, is rumoured to be considering a reunion if Liverpool decide to sell their £116million star – though there have been no indications an early sale is likely to be entertained despite his lack of goal contributions.

Wirtz kicked off his English football career with an assist in the Community Shield, but hasn’t managed to contribute another goal or assist in any of his nine Premier League or Champions League appearances. That has now led to suggestions in Spain that Alonso has requested Real to ‘kep tabs’ on Wirtz.

Despite Liverpool creating numerous opportunities and scoring in all but one of their matches, a promising start has been halted by three consecutive defeats across all competitions.

At this point, Liverpool are being patient with the German international and appear ready to ease him into form rather than cutting their losses. He started from the bnch at Chelsea on Saturday, but showed potential after replacing Conor Bradley at the beginning of the second half.

Liverpool found their footing after Wirtz’s introduction in the second half, levelling the score through Cody Gakpo, but failed to secure a second goal and were hit by a sucker punch as Chelsea substitute Estevao struck in the final moments. This resulted in them losing their hold on the top spot as we approach the international break.

Alonso’s Real Madrid, in contrast, bounced back immediately following their opening league defeat of the campaign. They beat Villarreal at home and finished the weekend at the summit of La Liga following Barcelona’s loss to Sevilla, but this hasn’t stood in the way of reports that Alonso wants Los Blancos’ hierarchy to monitor Wirtz should an exit opportunity materialise.

Following Saturday’s loss at Chelsea, Liverpool boss Arne Slot was questioned about whether his side was still seeking balance after a hectic summer which saw them buy and sell hundreds of millions of pounds worth of players. “I think if you play the style we play – so a high press – and the style Chelsea plays – a high press – it would be a surprise if both teams, with the quality that both teams have, that they never play through your press, so that would be unrealistic,” he said.

“You go here to Stamford Bridge with them having eight injuries, so you’re like, ‘This can be positive, then they probably don’t have the options from the bench.’ But they did still have a few good options from the bench to impact the game. So it would be unrealistic to expect that if you play Chelsea – they want to play out from the back – that they never play through your press, as we played through their press as well.”

Alonso enters the international break on a high, though Saturday’s win wasn’t without a couple of concerns. Kylian Mbappe and Franco Mastantuono both departed the pitch in the final moments of the encounter, with Madrid’s manager providing an update on the fitness of the pair.

“Kylian had a discomfort in his ankle and Franco has an overload in his hamstring,” Alonso stated. “We will continue the progression with their national teams.

“We can’t say if (Mbappe) will go with France or not, they will have to evaluate him in their national team. If it gets complicated, he won’t be able to play, but now we can’t say anything.”