Former Reds star Steve Nicol has slammed the Germany international with little praise as he struggles to find “positive elements” surrounding Florian Wirths after a difficult start to his spell at Liverpool.
Wirtz is yet to score for Liverpool and has provided just two assists since his £100m move from Bayer Leverkusen.
Gary Neville claimed he looked like a “little boy” after Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City Nicol, who made 459 appearances for Liverpool, worked hard to earn a plus point at the start of his Anfield career.
Read: Liverpool are better in muscle, better in tackles, better in runs, 20% drop revealed
“If I’m going to give Florian Wirtz a positive review, the number one reason is that he’s quiet. There’s nothing in the paper about him not being able to play,” he said on ESPN.
“But the other thing I would say is when he was actually out on the field, he wasn’t hiding.
“He’s looking for the ball, he’s not sulking, he’s not walking around with his tail between his legs, he’s actually trying to get involved and do what he’s supposed to do.
“Right now it’s not working out. But to be fair to him, considering he’s young, he’s throwing everything in about a new team and everything, but he’s not hiding. That’s really important for the fans, the manager and the players around him.”
More Liverpool coverage on F365…
👉 Liverpool fans trying to “fight back” on season expectations are “utter nonsense”
👉 Liverpool will ‘improve dramatically’ but may need to let Wirtz go first
👉 “It’s clear there will be revenge against Liverpool” and other less spiritual views
Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann came to Wirtz’s rescue in a press conference ahead of Luxembourg’s World Cup qualifier against Slovakia, insisting his team-mates were to blame for the playmaker’s unfortunate start to the Premier League.
“To be honest, the whole situation is not easy for him either. This year the whole club itself is not as stable as last year. It is much more difficult to slip into the team now.”
“If you look at City vs. City, they were the worst team for 90 minutes, so it’s also difficult for flow to really have a big impact.
“Ultimately, the overall situation is that he needs a bit more time. That’s normal and you’ll see the same thing with other players moving to the English Premier League.”
Nagelsmann added: “We all know what he’s capable of and it’s completely normal for players of his age to experience some dips in form.”
“You can’t expect him to perform at the same level three years in a row.
“Instead, we all need to support him a little bit so he can clear his head here. Then maybe Liverpool can also help him by scoring some of the chances he creates.”
“That would be one idea, too, because he’s certainly created some chances. He just doesn’t like them to shoot the ball from those chances for some reason. That’s part of the truth.”
