Ex-Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant has likened the Reds’ record signing Florian Wirtz to Eden Hazard.

Speaking to Adventure Gamers, Pennant said that Wirtz shares more attributes with the former Chelsea player than he does with someone like Kevin De Bruyne:

“If I had to compare Florian Wirtz to a past Premier League player stylistically, then I’m thinking someone like Eden Hazard. If you think back to the players the league has had in the past, then Hazard sticks out as someone who plays like him. The way he wants to dribble and jinx past players his through balls, the way he can score with his left and right foot – there are a lot of similarities.”

“If you look at someone like Kevin De Bruyne, he was a different kind of player to Wirtz – he was more of a visionary with great IQ passing and long-range shooting. I therefore think if there’s one player Wirtz reminds me of, it’s Hazard.”

Hazard’s pace and skill struck fear into opponents

Although you can definitely see where Pennant is coming from in terms of comparing the two players’ dribbling ability, the main difference between the two is speed.

While Wirtz does have a burst of acceleration and possesses excellent ball control, he won’t be able to slalom around 3 or 4 defenders at a time like Hazard used to.

His passing range is undoubtedly superior to the Belgian’s, though, so there are plus and minus points.

Wirtz has a lot to live up to

It should not be forgotten that the 22-year-old is moving to a new country and a new league. Plenty of players have arrived from the Bundesliga and failed to perform.

Wirtz has been described as a ‘generational talent’ so the chances of him flopping are greatly reduced but it remains to be seen if he will justify his £116m British record fee.

In other news, Fabrizio Romano claims Liverpool could sign two more players after Hugo Ekitike