Roy Keane makes Florian Wirtz claim and compares Liverpool midfielder to Real Madrid legend

Liverpool summer transfer Florian Wirtz has been assessed as he approaches the end of his first season in England

Roy Keane believes Liverpool will see the best of Florian Wirtz next season - and claims the attacking midfielder can follow in the footsteps of Real Madrid legend Luka Modric. Wirtz was again an impressive performer for the Reds in their 1-0 Premier League win at Sunderland on Wednesday evening.

After a slow start to his Anfield career in terms of direct goal contributions following his £116million move from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, the 22-year-old attacking midfielder has had 11 in his last 17 outings.

No summer signing in the Premier League has created more chances than Wirtz this season while only three players - Lamine Yamal of Barcelona, Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Bayern Munich man Michael Olise - have done so in all competitions in Europe's top five leagues.

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In the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast, pundits Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Keane, Ian Wright and Jill Scott passed judgement on the Premier League's main summer transfers.

And of Wirtz being a hit or a miss, Carragher responded: "I think he's in the middle. He's a maybe. He's definitely improved."

Wright added: "He done some good stuff, you can see he's coming on." And Scott said: "He just needs a bit of time."

Keane then referenced former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Modric, who struggled during his first year at the London club in 2008/09 before performing to such an extent he earned a transfer to Real Madrid, where he spent 13 years before moving to AC Milan last summer.

"I still think it'll take him a full season to get up to speed," said Keane of Wirtz. "I think next year.

"I remember when Modric and all these boys took their time at Spurs to get used to the physicality, and he ended up playing in a two. I could not see how he (Modric) was going to become a top player."

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