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Dietmar Hamann has urged Liverpool fans not to be concerned about the form of Florian Wirtz and insisted the club's new signing will come good.
Attacking midfielder Wirtz has had a baptism of fire since swapping Bayer Leverkusen and the German Bundesliga for Anfield and the fast and frantic pace of Premier League soccer. His huge transfer fee has come with lofty expectations, and the 22-year-old has so far struggled to make an exceptional impact in his first four appearances, and was substituted in each of those late on.
Primary to the concerns of Liverpool supporters has been Wirtz's tendency in his opening games to lose possession seemingly quite easily. Those concerns grew on Friday when Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann threatened to drop Wirtz.
Yet Hamann, who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, is confident the best of his "special" compatriot is very much yet to come.
“The Bundesliga is the league closest to the Premier League in terms of physicality and pace, more so than Italy or Spain. However, it's a different game," Hamann told CoinPoker.
“In the first few weeks, Florian Wirtz was caught in possession against Bournemouth a couple of times, and again on Sunday [against Arsenal].
"This happened five times all season in the Bundesliga, but probably four or five times now in the first four games, including the Community Shield.
“It's a different pace, and he needs to get used to it and adapt. He's a smart player. He has a couple of weeks with the national team now, and I think he'll be fine.
“If people worry, I tell them not to worry. The kid is smart, good, and special. I think in the next few weeks, we'll see the player everybody was hoping they signed.”
Another former Liverpool legend Steve Nicol feels Reds boss Arne Slot may have to reconsider his tactics to accommodate Wirtz in his lineup.
Nicol told ESPN: "He [Slot] may have to find a different spot for this guy. Right now, he isn’t getting on the ball, which is what he was brought in to do, but from a defensive point of view there's no question Liverpool are struggling big time.
"He may have to move him out wide and use Szoboszlai, Mac Allister and Gravenberch as a midfield three, because right now the back four cannot defend as a unit.
"But, are you going to drop Cody Gakpo just because you’ve paid £116m for Florian Wirtz? It's a tough decision."
Wirtz featured for Germany as the team fell to a shock 2-0 defeat to Slovakia on Thursday, and is expected to be involved when his country welcomes Northern Ireland to Cologne in its next World Cup qualifier on Sunday.
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