Florian Wirtz's performance in Liverpool's win over West Ham came as a mighty relief to Reds fans, as he finally showed exactly what he is capable of with a man-of-the-match performace.
The German joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen for a huge transfer fee during the summer transfer window, but has endured a difficult start to life on Merseyside. Arne Slot has kept faith in Wirtz, and started him ahead of Mohamed Salah as Liverpool beat West Ham 2-0 in the Premier League on Sunday.
Jamie Carragher said that Wirtz's first-half showing was his best half since joining the Reds, while Slot expressed his satisfaction with the 22-year-old's performance after the game.
Wirtz's encouraging display came after Premier League legend Sergio Aguero backed the attacker's quality to eventually shine through last week.
"It’s hard to give advice [to Wirtz]. Players have different personalities and their adaptation times vary," Aguero said. "Some adapt quickly and others need more time. But I have no doubt he will settle. Great players, and Wirtz is one, sooner or later settle and become vital in their teams."
It would be more than a tad premature to suggest that Wirtz is now settled at Liverpool after one excellent performance, but the signs were extremely encouraging against the Hammers – and it's not as though he looked particularly bad in previous games either: Wirtz created plenty of presentable opportunities earlier in the season, only for his teammates to pass them up.
Wirtz has received praise for his showing against West Ham
Wirtz has received praise for his showing against West Ham (Image: Getty Images)
The past can't be changed, though, and now it's down to Liverpool head coach Arne Slot to figure out how to fit Wirtz in to the team consistently, while also maintaining squad harmony. After all – it was Salah who had to drop out of the team to make way for the Germany international.
Just last year, Salah faced disappointment at the London Stadium in one of Jurgen Klopp's final games in charge when he was left on the bench, but Slot assured the Egyptian after this win that he remains a key player in his plans.
“Mo has had an unbelievable career and will have a very good future at this club because he’s such a special player," Slot said. "But when you have four games in 10 days then you have to decide once in a while on a certain lineup.”