Florian Wirtz is yet to score or assist in a Liverpool shirt since his successful summer move from Bayer Leverkusen, but key figures at Anfield continue to back him.
Arne Slott burst into defense of Florian Wirtz after the attacking midfielder got off to a slow start at Anfield. The German star started on the bench in Sunday’s big game against Manchester United.
Expectations were high after Liverpool beat Bayern Munich to seal a £116m deal to bring 22-year-old Wirtz to the club from Bayer Leverkusen after he was in form in the Bundesliga. However, he has not scored a single goal in the nine games he has played in the Champions League so far, and has been under scrutiny from some quarters.
But Slott insists that Wirtz’s thinness is not something more sinister, just him adjusting to life in a new league, and that he should already have plenty of assists to his name.
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Speaking to Sky Sports before the game against United, Slott said: “If you’re brought in for big money, people mainly look at goals and assists, but I’d say he could have already made six or seven assists. Unfortunately he didn’t score, but if you look at the passes he made to his team-mates, one of the best examples was against Chelsea. A minute later he made a great flick to Mo Salah.”
Slott continued: “He was a bit unlucky with his finishing as he gave his team-mates a chance, but in general it’s quite normal for a 22-year-old to have to adapt to going to another country, let alone going to the Premier League.”
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These comments were echoed by Virgil van Dijk, who is well aware of the pressure that comes with big-money transfers. He joined Liverpool from Celtic for £75 million in the January 2018 transfer window and went on to become the game’s biggest prize-money player in a red shirt.
“What’s important when a new player comes in, as I did when I paid a lot of money, is that they feel welcome, that they feel settled, that their home situation is sorted out, that their family is happy. If that’s good, they’ll excel,” added the Liverpool captain.
“Plus, in any profession, you need a little bit of time to adapt, to get to know your colleagues, what they want to do, the demands of the Premier League and Liverpool. That’s completely normal.”
“We live in a world where it’s hard to get time from the outside world, but as long as we and Liverpool want to improve as much as I do, I’m totally fine.”
Liverpool broke the English transfer record by signing Werts in a summer of unprecedented spending, but Alexander Isak (£125m) ends the Reds’ most expensive signing. Van Dijk pointed out that not only Wirtz but all of the club’s new players need to be given time to get used to the game.
He added: “I don’t think it’s a good idea to focus purely on Florian in this case. There’s no doubting the quality that he, Alexander (Isaac), Hugo (Ekitike) and Milos (Kerkes) have.”
“What matters is that we stay together, improve and succeed. Every day we spend in training and in games is another opportunity to come together.”
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