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Julian Nagelsmann defended Florian Wirtz's start to life at Liverpool amid criticism the Germany international has faced since moving to the Premier League.
The Reds committed over $150 million to signing Wirtz in June, staving off competition from a host of Europe's top clubs to get a deal over the line.
However, he has not assisted a goal for his new club since the Community Shield, which is a run that spans seven Premier League games and two Champions League games.
His perceived slow start to life at Liverpool has drawn derision from many supporters of opposition clubs, but Nagelsmann pointed out that Wirtz has been creating plenty of chances, only to see his teammates spurn them.
“Even if he hasn’t scored a goal, he’s the player who creates the most chances in the Premier League," Nagelsmann said. "It’s not his fault if his teammate doesn’t create them, and the statistic isn’t even a third of the truth.
“He simply has to get used to the league. I’ve seen him feel completely liberated. He knows what he’s capable of and how things work. Not everything has always been handed to him — he’ll work hard now, too.”
It was a similar story for Wirtz on international duty on Friday as he created good chances for Nick Woltemade and Joshua Kimmich against Luxembourg, only for both players to fluff their lines.
Wirtz also came close to scoring himself as he hit the post with a wonderful dipping free-kick in the second half.
Meanwhile, despite the promising signs, Liverpool legend Steve Nicol told ESPN FC that Arne Slot cannot afford to give Wirtz too much time to adapt as a starter for the team.
Wirtz was benched for the game against Chelsea before the international break, although Slot claimed that was due to rotation.
"Had Liverpool not had such a big squad, you could just say to this guy, look, 10, 11, 12 games, just forget about it," Nicol told ESPN FC. "You’re playing first 10 games.
"But because of the squad they have, I’m not so sure Arne Slot can do that. Maybe that 10 or 12 games, maybe gets cut in half because of the quality you’ve got.
"Because if you want to win the Premier League, you can’t carry passengers. And right now Florian unfortunately is a bit of a passenger because he’s not contributing to any side of the ball."
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