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Arne Slot has been told that he should take some accountability for Florian Wirtz's slow start to life at Liverpool.
The Reds staved off competition from Bayern Munich to sign Wirtz during the summer transfer window for a fee that could rise to £116 million ($153 million). He is yet to score for his new club and has faced criticism for his general performances, with Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville saying that Wirtz looked like "a little boy" during Liverpool's loss to Manchester City last weekend.
Former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott compared Wirtz's transfer to Eberechi Eze's move from Crystal Palace to Arsenal over the summer, suggesting that Eze benefited from being slowly integrated into his new team.
Eze lined up just once across Arsenal's first five league games of the season, whereas Wirtz started Liverpool's first six games in all competitions.
Lescott feels as though Wirtz should have been slowly eased into the team following his move from the Bundesliga.
Discussing City's 3-0 win over Liverpool, Lescott told TNT Sports: "The worry [about Liverpool] for me and what was telling is that Liverpool vs Man City match-ups in the past six or seven years have always been close. That wasn't close.
"I'd give [Arsenal manager Mikel] Arteta more credit for the way he's handled [Eberechi] Eze. People said that he should be in a team, and he should be starting.
"But Mikel was patient, because he did well at Crystal Palace, but then, when you go to Arsenal, you have to perform.
"It's a similar situation to Florian Wirtz coming from Bayer Leverkusen, where he now has to perform, but Slot didn't give him a grace period of bedding him in, letting him find his feet.
"It's on Slot the way he's managed it, not the fact he's brought him in. I understand when you lose Trent [Alexander-Arnold], you need a replacement. When you sell [Luiz] Diaz, you need a replacement.
"Obviously, the tragedy that happened with [Diogo] Jota, you need replacements.
"But, the way it's been handled, he definitely has to take some accountability."
Speaking on Sunday, former United captain Neville said of Wirtz's display at the Etihad Stadium: “I thought Wirtz in particular - it was a really bad day for him. We've been tip-toeing around him, haven't we, for a few months, around the fact that he's young, coming to a new country. But he's £120 million, you're going to have to stand up soon.
“He's obviously got something. He's a really good player and technically fantastic, but he's been mauled out there today by [Matheus] Nunes and by others. He's been chucked around the pitch and didn't deliver in the quality side of things either. His performance was a real worry.
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