Florian Wirtz has come under fire for his slow start at Liverpool, but both Arne Slot and Xabi Alonso agreed the midfielder simply needs “some time to adjust” to a new team and a new league.
The blockbuster summer signing, who joined the defending English champions in a deal worth up to €136.3 million (£116.1 million, $157.8 million), has struggled to live up to his then-record British transfer fee in his first few months in a red shirt.
Wirtz has zero goals and just three assists to his name through 14 appearances for Liverpool. The 22-year-old is also still seeking his first Premier League goal contribution.
Amid the growing criticism, Slot came to the defence of his marquee acquisition ahead of Liverpool’s all-important clash with Real Madrid on Tuesday evening.
“I’ve said this quite a lot, not as an excuse but just how it is; many times we have to play three games in seven days with only two days’ rest in between. For a player who comes from a different league, which is a very good league by the way, nine out of 10 people would agree the Premier League is a bit more intense in all the games.”
Wirtz spent his entire career at Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, where he helped lead the club to its first-ever league title in 2023–24. The competition level in the English top-flight is a different beast, though, one that Wirtz has yet to master.
“For me, he brought exactly what we expected, a player who created a lot for the team. He will have his goals but I don’t think it comes as a surprise to anyone that if you’re 22 or 23 and come to a different league that you might need some time to adjust to that intensity if you play every three days,” Slot said.
Slot then drew comparisons to how long it took Ryan Gravenberch to “adjust to the intensity” of the English top-flight before he became a pivotal part of the Reds’ 2024–25 Premier League title-winning campaign.
