Andoni Iraola has backed Florian Wirtz ahead of Liverpool’s Premier League trip to Bournemouth, insisting the Germany international should be judged on his overall contribution rather than solely goals and assists.

Wirtz was rested for Liverpool’s 3–1 Carabao Cup win over Tottenham on Tuesday, alongside Virgil van Dijk, but is expected to return for Sunday’s match at the Vitality Stadium. The fixture marks Iraola’s first visit to Bournemouth since leaving the club for Liverpool in the summer.

The 23-year-old has faced scrutiny over his start to life at Anfield, despite Iraola’s belief that he is contributing in multiple areas of the team’s play.

“He should be judged like everybody else,” Iraola said. “If he plays well, if he doesn’t play well, I always say: how does the team play when you are on the pitch?”

“I am very happy with Florian. I rate him very highly. He understands what we need from him, he is trying to help in every aspect of the game. Obviously, he will want to add assists and goals, but he is helping us in a lot of different areas.”

Iraola said the midweek break was useful for Wirtz, who has featured regularly during the opening weeks of the season.

“We could give him some rest the other day, which I think he needed, because he is making a good effort in the games,” the Liverpool head coach added.

Liverpool have no new injury concerns ahead of the match. Alisson Becker, Van Dijk, Wirtz and Alexander Isak all sat out the Carabao Cup tie and are expected to return to the starting side.

A likely Liverpool lineup includes Alisson in goal; Ronald Araújo, Jérémy Jacquet, Van Dijk and Milos Kerkez in defence; Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai in midfield; with Víctor Muñoz, Wirtz and Bradley Barcola supporting Isak.

Wirtz showed his quality at the World Cup during Germany’s 7–1 win over Curaçao, a performance former England striker Chris Sutton described as a “real menace.” Sutton said Liverpool fans may have wondered whether they were watching the same player after Wirtz played with greater freedom for his national team.

Liverpool head to the south coast aiming to enter the international break with a league victory, while Wirtz will hope a strong display against Bournemouth can reinforce Iraola’s faith in his wider value to the team.