Florian Wirtz has been let down by Liverpool’s wasteful finishing and poor form, says Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann.
The national team head coach launched a spikey defence of Wirtz, following criticism of the Germany star’s slow start at Liverpool since his £100m summer move from Bayer Leverkusen.
“Liverpool could also help him out by scoring some of the chances he creates,” Nagelsmann said, when asked about Wirtz’s performances this season. “They somehow don’t like to shoot the ball in.”
The attacking midfielder was labelled “a problem” for Liverpool by Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville after his ineffective display in their 3-0 defeat at Manchester City on Sunday. “Wirtz looked like a little boy. His performance was a real worry,” added Neville.
Wirtz was supposed to supercharge the Premier League champions’ attack but instead he is yet to register a single goal or assist in 11 top-flight games.
Florian Wirtz’s stats at Liverpool in the Premier League this season
However, Nagelsmann leapt to his compatriot’s defence, saying the 22-year-old needs time to adapt to English football but also pointed the finger of criticism at Liverpool’s wider issues under Arne Slot this term.
“To be honest, the overall situation doesn’t make it easy for Flo either,” said Nagelsmann, in relation to Liverpool’s run of seven defeats in their last 10 games in all competitions.
“The whole club isn’t as stable this year as it was last year. It’s much harder to slip into the team now.
“If you look at the game against [Manchester] City, they were actually the worse team over the 90 minutes.
“So it’s also difficult for Flo to make a big impact. Ultimately, the overall situation is such that he just needs a little more time, which is normal; you see that with other players who move to the Premier League too.”
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Highlights of the Premier League match between Manchester City and Liverpool
Wirtz has created 16 chances in the Premier League, the 16th most by a player in the division. His Expected Assists figure is 1.19.
Nagelsmann believes Wirtz’s output remains at a high level, even if he is in “a dip in form” right now.
“We all know what he’s capable of, and it’s perfectly normal for a player of his age to go through a bit of a dip in form,” said Nagelsmann.
“We can’t expect him to perform at the same level for three years straight.
“Instead, we all need to support him a little bit so that he can clear his head here, and then maybe Liverpool could also help him out by scoring some of the chances he creates.
“That would be one idea, because he does not create few chances, it’s just that… they somehow don’t like to shoot the ball in, that’s also part of the truth.”
Neville: Wirtz like a little boy vs Man City
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville believes patience is running thin for Wirtz to deliver on his promise after he had “a really bad day” in the heavy loss at City, which leaves the champions eighth after 11 games.
“Wirtz is a problem,” the Sky Sports pundit said on the Gary Neville Podcast.
“Let’s just call it as it is. It’s an issue. He’s £100m+, and to be fair, I said a few weeks ago [Milos] Kerkez looked like a little boy out there. Today I thought Wirtz looked like a little boy. That can’t be the case.”
He added: “We’ve been tiptoeing around him for a few months, around the fact that he’s young, he’s coming to a new country, but he’s £100m+, you’re going to have to stand up soon.
“He’s obviously got something, he’s a really good player, he’s technically fantastic, but he’s been mauled out there today by Matheus Nunes and by others.
“He’s been chucked around the pitch, and didn’t deliver on the quality side of things as well, so his performance was a real worry.”
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Roy Keane reacts to Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City.
Neville says Liverpool have to find a way to bring the best out of Wirtz, who has looked more at home in the Champions League since moving to Anfield.
Liverpool boss Arne Slot, who started using Wirtz centrally, has restored him to his favoured left-wing position over the last two games. He impressed against Real Madrid but went back into his shell at City.
“He’s a Germany international of great standing, and he looks well short in respect of what you’d expect in a top physical Premier League match,” added Neville.
“They’ve got to get him up to speed, they’ve got to get that little bit of tenacity into him, and that little bit of something that means he’ll start to get into form, because what they have to do is stick with him and persist.”
