Former England international Chris Waddle believes that there are three key reasons why Florian Wirtz has failed to make his mark for Liverpool so far this season. The German international joined the Reds from Bayer Leverkusen earlier this summer in a deal worth £116million, and there are high hopes for him on Merseyside.
However, Wirtz is without a goal or assist in his opening two Premier League matches, drifting through clashes against Bournemouth and Newcastle without any notable contribution. Nevertheless, Liverpool have won both encounters, despite not being at their very best on either occasion.
Wirtz has started both matches in the No. 10 role and, although there have been flashes of quality, has not been able to hit the levels which he showed at Leverkusen – where he asserted himself as one of the most exciting players in Europe.
Ex-Tottenham star Waddle believes that there are three key reasons why Wirtz has struggled in the Premier League so far. He told Esports Bets: “I think Florian Wirtz has been caught out by the pace of the Premier League a little bit.
“You can tell he’s not a physical player and more of a technical player, so it’s going to take him a while to settle. Only time will tell whether his confidence will be hampered or not.
“From what I’ve seen so far, he’s getting caught in possession frequently when there’s a lot of pressure on the ball. The pace of the game is a lot quicker in England. I think we can say that he hasn’t hit the ground running, but I wouldn’t write him off just yet.
“Sometimes when a technical player comes into the Premier League, they can find it difficult, because it’s not an easy league to play in. I think he’s good enough to succeed in a Liverpool shirt because of what we saw when he was at Bayer Leverkusen, but he’s found it tough in the first few weeks.”
Despite the early struggles, Arne Slot will have no doubts about what Wirtz can provide at Anfield given the remarkable goal and assist tallies he racked up during his last five seasons at Leverkusen.
The pace of the Premier League is certainly something which Wirtz will get to grips with over time, and he will be keen to prove that there is space in the ‘physical’ competition for someone with the neat, technical ability which he possesses.