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Florian Wirtz has been told that he will be "done" at Liverpool unless he begins adjusting more rapidly to English soccer.
The German midfielder has experienced a patchy beginning to his Anfield career following his arrival from Bayer Leverkusen in a transfer potentially worth as much as $157 million (£116 million) during the summer. The 22-year-old has managed three assists across 15 outings for Arne Slot's squad so far, but he remains without a goal contribution in the Premier League.
The creative midfielder has found himself on the substitutes' bench for recent encounters against Everton, Chelsea, Manchester United and Aston Villa in England's top division, yet has shone in the Champions League.
Recording two assists versus Eintracht Frankfurt after being reinstated to the first XI following Liverpool's defeat to Manchester United, he also stood out when recalled for the midweek triumph over Real Madrid on Tuesday.
Ex-Real Madrid and Inter Milan icon Wesley Sneijder has now offered his perspective on Wirtz's inconsistent form at Anfield, warning he will struggle to survive in England unless he begins delivering greater influence in the Premier League.
"I always say this about players with the German or Dutch mentality. It is the same," the Dutchman said. "You can play good in your own country but they can have problems adapting in different countries.
"The Dutch and the German players are like that and I see the same happening now with Florian Wirtz.
"He felt comfortable in Germany. He was in the right spot. Now he made a big step and that's difficult because at big clubs you don't have the time to adapt. You already need to be there.
"If you come to the club as a big star then you have to show them immediately why they signed you and if you don't show them they don't care for you.
"Wirtz is a big star in Germany but you have to be a big star on the pitch at Liverpool immediately and I felt like he had quite a problem in the beginning with this adaptation.
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"Slowly, he is getting there but it needs to be faster and it needs to come quickly now, otherwise he's done."
Sneijder also dismissed recent criticism of Slot, asserting it has to stop despite Liverpool's struggles last month.
The Reds have won their last two matches against Aston Villa and Real Madrid, but had previously lost six of their last seven games as the pressure started to mount on the Liverpool head coach.
But having seen Slot lead the Reds to the Premier League title last season, Sneijder jumped to the defence of his fellow countryman.
"It's funny. A couple of months ago he was the king of Liverpool," he told Adventure Gamers. "He was the coach to make you forget about all the previous coaches, even Jurgen Klopp.
"After four weeks, they are saying he wants to turn Liverpool into Feyenoord; he's not winning games in the last minute anymore. He's out of luck.
"Come on. Stop this. He's still a great coach. What he did there is something amazing in the first season. He has needed to adapt as well and he adapted very quickly and brought his own style to the club and to the team."
Liverpool.com says: Wirtz has so much talent and it was a big step forward when he played so well against Real Madrid. At the weekend, he should be in the starting XI again from the left-hand side, but there is a dilemma to be solved. Cody Gakpo looked sharp when he came on midweek and will be pushing to regain his spot.
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