16 hours ago
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Peter Bosz has backed Florian Wirtz to adapt to the physical demands of the Premier League and claimed the Liverpool star is the best player he has ever worked with.
The German, who is expected to miss the midweek Champions League clash against PSV Eindhoven through injury, played under Bosz during his time at Bayer Leverkusen. The 62-year-old even handed Wirtz a first-ever senior appearance in 2020.
Bosz left Leverkusen in 2021, and in the intervening years Wirtz has gone on to establish himself as one of the world's brightest young attacking players, leading to his £100million ($132M) move to Liverpool this summer. Speaking ahead of his side's Champions League clash at Anfield, Bosz admitted he has no doubts Wirtz will eventually thrive in the Premier League, despite his disappointing start to life in the Premier League.
"He is the best player I've ever worked with at his age," said Bosz. "He was 16 when was allowed to come and train with us at Cologne. I didn't let him go anywhere else, so good he was.
"I've had other lads come and train with us but he was really special. I worked with [Alexander] Isak at Dortmund when he was 16, but we weren't sure what sort of career he would have, but with Florian it was obvious.
"It will take time for him to get used to the Premier League. The intensity in his league is higher than any other league in the world.
"The Bundesliga has a lot of intensity in terms of transition, but here you have to get used to the intensity. I saw him at 16 how he adapted to the training. He was technically perfect. He was intelligent.
"You could see he got better after every match. He can play intelligent football and he is going to be fine."
Bosz also backed Arne Slot to turn things around after a difficult start to his second season Merseyside.
"He is a great trainer and we will turn this around. I have no doubt about that," said the PSV coach.
"It happens to every trainer. It is impossible to win every match and every trainer comes up against that, it is how you stay clam, do your players stay clam and can you get your message through to your players?"
On the daunting task of playing at Anfield, Bosz added: "Liverpool is one of the biggest clubs in the word and are on the same level as Real Madrid and Barcelona. The history they have, the stadium and the supporters, it is a massive club."
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