**Galatasaray midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has sprung to the defence of Liverpool star Florian Wirtz following his slow start to life on Merseyside.**
Many have criticised the 22-year-old for failing to score and create any goals since moving to Anfield for a fee in excess of £100m. However, Gundogan says he is confident that his compatriot will begin producing the goods in the near future:
“I would like to see a bit more in-depth analysis here – and not just focus on the bare assists and goals. Anyone who doesn’t see Flo’s outstanding quality really doesn’t understand much about football. To call it a transfer flop already is completely exaggerated.
“I’m sure the goals and assists will come very soon – if not in October, then from November onwards.”
Wirtz is struggling with the pace of the Premier League
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The German international is not the first, and he will not be the last player signed from the Bundesliga who has struggled to adapt to English football.
There have been notorious flops over the years, including Jadon Sancho, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz (at Chelsea), Christopher Nkunku and even Naby Keita.
Gundogan, though, was not one of those who found the transition difficult when he joined Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund, so his opinion does carry a lot of weight.
Liverpool have tried to change too many things too quickly
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The amount of changes made to the squad in the last transfer window certainly hasn’t helped [**Wirtz**](https://walkon.com/blog/liverpool-news-florian-wirtz-cole-palmer-xhaka/) settle in at his new club. If he had been the only summer signing, the process of integrating him would have gone much quicker.
As it is, head coach Arne Slot is spinning plenty of plates. He’s trying to provide opportunities for the club’s other new arrivals – Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike and Milos Kerkez – to shine, but nothing is working quite as it should at the moment.
The more time this squad has together, the less disjointed it will feel, but they could lose significant ground on their title rivals in the meantime.
[**Read more about the Liverpool First Team Squad for 2025/26 here**](https://walkon.com/blog/liverpool-first-team-squad/)