Exclusive interview with Didi Hamann: You can’t rule out Florian Wirtz joining Real Madrid in January, Newcastle fans have forgotten Alexander Isak thanks to Nick Woltemade, Nico Schlotterbeck would be a great signing for Liverpool, Trent Alexander-Arnold could end up playing in midfield for Real Madrid

In an exclusive interview with EsportsBets, Liverpool hero Didi Hamann has explained why Florian Wirtz could join Real Madrid in January after his huge summer switch.

The former Germany international has also hailed the impact of Nick Woltemade at Newcastle after he replaced Alexander Isak at St James’ Park.

Hamann has also given his thoughts on Liverpool’s links to Borussia Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s position at Real Madrid.

 

Q: Could you see Florian Wirtz going on loan to Real Madrid?

“Top players didn’t get loaned in the past. A loan was for players who didn’t get a game, but the top players didn’t get loaned. It probably started with Philippe Coutinho a few years ago, when he went for 140 million or something to Barcelona. And a year later he was loaned out to Bayern Munich.

“I wouldn’t rule anything out in today’s world, especially in football. It’s been reported that Xabi Alonso has asked Real Madrid to keep an eye on Florian Wirtz’ performances and what he does at Liverpool, I reckon it could be true. Because we know how fondly he talks of him. He was the reason they won the league, they won the cup.

“He was the heartbeat of the Bayer Leverkusen team with Granit Xhaka, and yeah, they keep an eye on him. He’s too good to fail at Liverpool, but it’s been about 10 games now. You can never rule anything out.

“In my time, Juan Sebastian Veron came to Manchester United as potentially the best midfielder at the time. He lasted one season. So you can never rule anything out.

“It’ll depend on what happens in the next few weeks. But as I said, at the moment I wouldn’t rule anything out, and if Real Madrid are keeping an eye on him, it could happen.”

 

Q: Could Florian Wirtz have had more success at Bayern?

“Florian Wirtz could’ve had success at Bayern, but I liked that he didn’t choose the easy way; he could have gone to Bayern, won the league, and perhaps played a decent role in the Champions League.

“If he had gone to Munich, I think it would have given them a better chance to be successful in the Champions League, even though they are doing well at the moment. He’s a tough kid, and as I said, one or two games can make all the difference. I still haven’t given up.”

 

Q: How impressed have you been with Nick Woltemade at Newcastle?

“Nick Woltemade, I’m buzzing for the lad. A really nice guy, down to earth that gets on with things. The price tag doesn’t bother him. He does his thing, scores goals, and he’s just a great character.

“Obviously, he’s well-liked, he’s adored after a few games by the Newcastle faithful. It’s just great to see him do well because he deserves it. The price tag was a bit spicy, I’ve got to say, the money he went for.

“But yeah, he just takes it in his stride. It probably helps him as well compared to the other two in Liverpool. Even though he costs a lot of money, expectations probably aren’t that high.

“But you’ve got to go out and do the business regardless of what you’ve cost, and he does brilliantly to see. Newcastle fans have forgotten about Alexander Isak already. He probably won’t get a warm reception when he does go back.

“Obviously, Liverpool has been there this season. But yeah, the main thing is that Newcastle has a really good team, despite a disappointing result at the weekend. I think it’s a team that will finish or should finish in the top four.

“The main thing is that they get the points, win the games, and move up the table. And obviously, Woltemade will try to help them, but as a team, they’ve got to play better than they did on Saturday.”

 

Q: Could Erling Haaland end up at Barcelona or Real Madrid?

“It depends on what he wants. He grew up in England with his dad for a while and loves the club. If he stays for another five to seven years, he could become one of City’s all-time greatest players, which might be an incentive.

“On the other hand, as we’ve seen with Trent Alexander-Arnold, it’s hard to turn down Real Madrid.

“At the moment, it’s pretty open. If you ask me now, I’d say he’ll probably leave because he’s won everything with City. Winning the Champions League or going to Real Madrid or Barcelona is a big deal. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him in Spain in a few years.”

 

Q: Can Vincent Kompany be the man to replace Pep Guardiola at Man City?

“They probably have two or three contenders once Pep Guardiola leaves. I’d be very surprised if Vincent Kompany wasn’t one of them. At the moment, it’s probably the most likely scenario that when Pep does leave, Kompany takes over, depending on when that is.

“Obviously, it’s always a matter of timing, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it does end up there.”

 

Q: Did Harry Kane put in the best performance of his career at the weekend?

“Harry Kane said it himself, it was one of the best performances in his whole career. He started the game behind Nicolas Jackson, who was playing because Serge Gnabry was injured. In the second half, when they were under pressure and all hands were to the pump, they all had to defend.

“He made two clearances in the box and a sliding tackle 20 yards from goal to stop Dortmund from getting a shot off. He did everything.

“It was an all-round, absolutely outstanding performance on Saturday. He also scored the first goal in a 2-1 win. He just seems to be enjoying his football at the moment.”

 

Q: Is Harry Kane leading the race to win the Ballon d’Or?

“To win the Ballon d’or he needs a very good season, which he obviously has set a brilliant start, scoring a lot of goals already.

“ I think you’ve got to go to the semi in both competitions because there will be somebody who scores a couple in the Champions League final or the World Cup final. So, you know, what he does in the league is great, but we shouldn’t forget that Bayern Munich won the league, I think, 12 times in the last 13 years.

“So the league is one thing, but where these titles are giving out is the Champions League and the World Cup and that’s where he has to perform.”

 

Q: Could Premier League clubs be put off Bundesliga players by the struggles of Florian Wirtz?

“Good question. I’m surprised as anyone that it hasn’t worked out so far for Florian Wirtz. Then again, maybe in six weeks’ time, it might be a different story.

“When you spend that money, it’s one of the biggest transfers ever, you expect players to come in and have an impact. You don’t have to play everybody off the park, but at least you want to see something.

“The fact that we haven’t seen that yet might make one or two people think, or maybe they’ll look twice when they want to bring a player in, whether he’s the right player.

“One thing is for sure, it’s a different football. It’s a lot quicker, it’s more physical, and there aren’t so many free kicks given, so you need some time to adapt.

“But I think that adaptation time should be over now, and hopefully, he performs. You’re right, though, maybe in the future, teams will look twice whether they spend their money on certain players.”

 

Q: Is Frankfurt the perfect chance for Florian Wirtz to get on track?

“I thought that against Chelsea, when Florian Wirtz didn’t start but came on, nothing really happened in the first half, that it could be his breakthrough.

“Then he had that backheel to Mohamed Salah after one minute at Stamford Bridge, which Salah missed with his right foot. I thought this was a perfect game because we had nothing to lose.

“Nothing happened in the first half, we were losing, and then he made that great assist, which Salah obviously missed. I thought, ‘This is it now. This is his game.’

“But then it went flat again. A similar story against Man Utd. Frankfurt have a very young team, but they are pretty aggressive. You always hope that the next game is the one where it’s going to click.

“In the Champions League against Atletico, he did okay. Against Galatasaray, he also had a couple of situations where he did okay.

“The football in the Champions League is different from the Premier League. I think the Champions League suits him much better, or at least better at the moment, because it’s not as hectic or wild as the Premier League.

“Even if he does well, that doesn’t mean he’ll transform that form to the Premier League. The Premier League is the bread and butter. That’s where he has to start performing, hopefully sooner rather than later.”

 

Q: Just how good a signing would Nico Schlotterbeck be for Liverpool?

“Bayern Munich are stepping up their interest in Nico Schlotterbeck. He was absolutely outstanding on Saturday. He’s been out with an injury for four or five months and only been back for four or five weeks. He’s a natural leader.

“Bayern Munich are interested, but you don’t know how long Virgil van Dijk is going to be there. The perfect situation would be to bring somebody in who maybe plays with Van Dijk for one or two years and then takes over Van Dijk’s role.

“I think he’d be a great signing for Liverpool, and a lot of other teams as well.”

 

Q: Could Trent Alexander-Arnold star in midfield for Real Madrid?

“In Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga, they’ve got very good players. They’ve got Federico Valverde as well. They always look for a place for him because he plays everywhere.

“Potentially Trent Alexander-Arnold could play in midfield because Xabi Alonso wasn’t too happy with him at right-back. Dani Carvajal played and then he got injured in the Champions League. So he will be back, I think, in the next few weeks.

“But it’ll be tough because there’s competition for places. He hasn’t got the standing in Madrid yet that he had in Liverpool, because at Liverpool, many roles fit. He pretty much was certain to play. But there might be an option to get him into the team in midfield.”

 

Q: Are Germany among the favourites for the World Cup?

“Germany used to go into World Cups thinking they were one of three or four top teams. Now, I’d say there are probably five or six teams stronger, even in Europe, like France, England, Spain, and Portugal. Then you have the South American teams.

“Spain is probably the benchmark, and Portugal are pretty strong. England, despite playing weaker opposition, doesn’t concede goals. France always has one of the best squads.

“I think the tournament will be open. We shouldn’t underestimate Argentina, and Brazil might be a contender with Carlo Ancelotti. Germany will have an outside chance.

“We still need to qualify, as we have a final against Slovakia at home and we struggled against Northern Ireland, both away and at home. So, we have work to do.”

 

Q: Will Alisson be starting for Brazil at the World Cup?

“Ederson or Alisson? Alisson is a better goalkeeper. There’s no question that Alisson is and should be the number one next summer for Brazil, and I’d be very surprised if Carlo Ancelotti has a different view on this.

“He’s a leader and will be crucial if Brazil go all the way. He doesn’t drop anything. I’m speaking to people at Liverpool, and they say you see how good he is in training.

“We talk about Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, and Sadio Mane when they were successful, but he probably didn’t get the recognition he should have because he makes hard saves look easy.

“I think that is his biggest quality. One-against-one, he stands up and is very hard to beat. He’s a brilliant goalkeeper, probably the best in the world at the moment.”

 

Q: Would it be a mistake if Alisson leaves Liverpool next summer?

“I think Alisson can play another two or three years. Obviously, it depends. There was talk in the last couple of years of him going to Saudi. I’m not sure whether that’s still the case.

“Liverpool also had one of the top five keepers in the Premier League as backup in Caoimhin Kelleher last year. He said, you know, “Now it’s time, I’ve got to play.” He probably stayed a year too long anyway.

“Giorgi Mamardashvili was a bit of a strange one, but obviously, they would have told him, ‘You come in as number two, and if you do well when you play, if Alisson goes one day, you might be number one.’ I think he’s capable of doing it.

“But if you were to be number one at some stage, I think those are huge boots to fill. Alisson has probably been the best keeper that’s been at the club for the last 20, 25 years, and he’ll be very hard to replace.”

 

Q: Could Murillo at Nottingham Forest be a future Liverpool defender?

“Obviously it’s not going too well at the moment at Liverpool and I think Murillo is a very physical defender, very tough and certainly a player who’s on the radar of a lot of big teams.

“But I think Nico Schlotterbeck is probably the better footballer. That would be something I would be looking at. Because I think if you talk specifically about Liverpool, I think the way you handle the ball is pretty important and if you find one who is very good physically, good header of the ball, and can play, would always be my preference.”

 

Q: Who was most at fault when Germany beat Brazil 7-1 in 2014?

“I remember Thiago Silva was captain because Neymar was injured and Thiago Silva was suspended. During the national anthem, the team held up Neymar’s shirt, and some players even cried because he couldn’t play. Looking at their emotions before the game, I thought the game was over before it began.

“Neymar was a significant loss, no doubt, but he wasn’t there, they shouldn’t have focused on him. It was an 11-a-side game. Brazil’s mistake was getting overly emotional about Neymar’s absence before the game even started.

“Regardless of who played, like Dante, you shouldn’t lose 7-1 in a semi-final. I believe their emotional mindset beforehand led to their downfall, getting emotional often results in coming out second best, which is precisely what happened that night.”