Liverpool supporters had expected much more from Florian Wirtz than he has so far delivered this season.
The German arrived at Anfield with an enormous price tag, and a big reputation for being one of the most dazzling players in Europe.
Although Wirtz was impressive in pre-season, he has since struggled to get to grips with life in the Premier League.
In six Premier League and Champions League appearances, the 22-year-old is yet to register a goal contribution.
More than that, Wirtz’s performances have been slightly concerning. He looks hesitant and sluggish, and is yet to really gel with his new teammates in the Liverpool squad on the pitch.
With plenty of spotlight falling on Wirtz following his slow start, some have begun to question whether Liverpool have made an expensive mistake. But according to journalist Fabrizio Romano, the Reds are still totally convinced by their No. 7 behind closed doors.
Liverpool have no worries over Florian Wirtz
There is no question that Liverpool would have liked to have seen more from Wirtz so far. But it is also true that it was always unlikely to be straightforward for the Germany international.
Liverpool have changed their system specifically to accommodate his talents, and that is going to take time to settle no matter how good the players are.
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The outside world becomes restless at record speed in football these days, but thankfully, Romano says Liverpool are privately still very confident that Wirtz will answer his critics.
“I wanted to mention the situation of Florian Wirtz,” the reporter told his YouTube channel on Sunday. “I’m getting some questions from Liverpool fans, football fans in general on how is the Liverpool feeling on him.”
“Liverpool remain very calm, very confident and very optimistic. They know that Florian Wirtz is not this player we’re seeing in the opening weeks of the Premier League, he might need some time to adapt to a new league, new life in football in England. But they have zero doubts on Florian Wirtz.
“They see how he is training, they see how serious he is, hard worker,” Romano adds. “Liverpool maintain their absolute confidence in Wirtz. They will keep protecting him, playing him for sure, Arne Slot has no intention to change.
“The start was not the one expected, but Arne Slot is talking directly to him almost on a daily basis to try to support him in the best way possible. They are convinced it’s just a matter of time before we see the real Florian Wirtz.”
When will Wirtz show his best self?
Like Liverpool, we still believe that Slot can get the best out of Wirtz, but he does need to tweak the set-up slightly.
It will no doubt help the former Bayer Leverkusen man once Liverpool can get the right players on the pitch with him all at the same time.
This will likely mean getting Alexander Isak completely match fit and working out where he and Hugo Ekitike fit into the team together with Wirtz. It was always going to take time to click, but nobody has patience for these things anymore.
In our opinion, there will be no need to panic over Wirtz even if he does not consistently hit his top level for the whole of his debut season in England.
If it goes beyond that, perhaps it will be time to concede some form of defeat. But Wirtz has time on his side and Liverpool need to let him use it.
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