Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has backed Florian Wirtz to take the Premier League “by storm” next season following a difficult debut campaign in England.
Liverpool beat Real Madrid and Manchester City to Wirtz’s signature in a then club-record £115m deal from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, but the Germany international has struggled at times due to the physicality of the Premier League.
Wirtz was the star of Leverkusen’s unbeaten Bundesliga title two years ago but the 22-year-old admitted in an interview TNT Sports that he got more more time on the ball in Germany and that the intensity of the Premier League “was a bit more than I was thinking”.
Gerrard, though, has seen an improvement in Wirtz’s game in recent months. The Anfield legend told TNT Sports: “The biggest difference for me is the size of his body and his shape. I think Liverpool have prepared him better for the Premier League. I think when he’s turned up he was very lightweight.
“But if you give this boy time and space, he’ll hurt you. He’s a match-winner, he’s a creator and he’s a No 9’s dream. He can get centre-forward’s a lot of chances. I want him to be more selfish. Sometimes, it’s as if he wants the assist more than the goal, but he’s got a lovely strike and lovely finish.
“I think next season’s the season. He was always going to take a period of time to adapt. I’s a big move and the pace of the game here in England’s a lot different from Germany. I expect him to have a really strong pre-season off the back of a World Cup, and next year take this league by storm.
“He needs to stay physically strong because it’s a more robust league, there’s more duels, there’s more physicality. But in terms of the talent, that’s never not been there, because he did have the moments even when he wasn’t playing well. The thing is now, the team are executing his chances, the scorers are finishing.”
