Newcastle United striker Nick Woltemade has defended Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz, labeling criticism of him as ‘absurd’.
Stern have an interview with the Newcastle star today. He discusses various topics, including his fellow German.
While the striker has hit the ground running in the Premier League with give goals in his first 11 games so far, the same cannot be said of Wirtz.
He’s struggled to adapt, failing to score in the Premier League so far and providing just one assist. The latter came thanks to a deflected goal in the 1-1 draw with Sunderland on Wednesday.
It’s not what anyone was expecting from the midfielder, who arrived from Germany with a growing reputation after shining at Bayer Leverkusen. He also arrived with a €125m price tag that demands top performances every week.
Instead, he has found himself being questioned and even left out of Arne Slot’s side as the Dutchman looks to find a way to get his team back on track.
There have been signs of improvement of late. A strong showing against West Ham was followed by his assist against Sunderland. Woltemade certainly thinks his international teammate will come good at some point. He believes the talk up to now has been “absurd”.
“This is a pseudo-discussion,” he said.
“Anyone who understands something about football sees what incredible skills he has. Flo will make his way, even in the Premier League.”