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Florian Wirtz has opened up on his underwhelming start at Liverpool, having arrived with huge expectations on a £116million deal.
The attacking midfielder, who joined from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, is yet to register a goal or assist in the Premier League or Champions League.
In an interview with Sky Germany, the 22-year-old admitted: ‘Yes, of course I would have liked to have scored a goal or collected a few points. But no matter what anyone says, I’m staying cool.
And Wirtz added that there’s nobody who has higher expectations than himself to deliver in for Arne Slot’s men and reveal the advice he is tired of being told ‘constantly’.
He went on: ‘I don’t want to constantly hear “give it time, give it time.” Instead, I simply try to do it better each time than before.
Wirtz was dropped to the bench for Saturday’s Merseyside derby and also rested for Tuesday’s Carabao Cup win over Southampton.
Florian Wirtz has opened up on his frustrating start to life at Liverpool after joining for £116m
The German came off the bench in the Merseyside derby win over Everton on Saturday
The German insists he is ‘not playing badly’, just needs the goals and assists to show for it.
He continued: ‘Sometimes there are just phases where things aren’t going well for you. I haven’t had that very often in my career.
‘Once I get through it—that might be harsh, because I’m not playing badly, I just haven’t got the points (goals and assists) yet — it will come at some point, and then everything will be fine.
‘It’s no secret that I’d like to have more so far, but I’m patient, and as I just said, I know full well that I can play good football. Sooner or later, I’m sure that things will return to normal.’
‘No matter what anyone says, I stay cool. I just try to do better every time than before.’
Wirtz will be afforded plenty of time to settle into his new environment and will hope to strike up an effective partnership with Alexander Isak.
The Swedish forward looks set to start for the Reds at Crystal Palace this weekend after Hugo Ekitike’s mindless two yellow cards against Southampton.
He was booked for hitting the ball away in frustration before receiving a second yellow for taking his shirt off after scoring the winner.
Wirtz is coming to terms with the pace and physicality of the Premier League
Ekitike has hit the ground running for his new club, unlike Wirtz.
It remains to be seen whether Slot will persist with his big-money signing in the No 10 role or consider moving him to the left wing.
Dominic Szoboszlai performed well behind the striker in the derby, while Cody Gakpo has come under scrutiny for recent performances on the flank.
Liverpool take on the Eagles at Selhurst Park in a 3:00pm kick-off on Saturday before a testing trip to Galatasaray in the Champions League next Tuesday.
If they are to continue the momentum built up in both competitions it would be the ideal time for Wirtz to stand up and deliver.
