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Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann has claimed that Florian Wirtz's struggles stem from Liverpool's instability during the current campaign. Wirtz, who has featured in seven Premier League matches, has endured a challenging period - most recently evident in a tough encounter against Manchester City.
Following his $152.8 million (£116M) transfer to Anfield from Bayer Leverkusen, Wirtz has yet to contribute a Premier League goal or assist for the Reds, unable to reproduce the displays that justified his hefty price tag. Despite this, the midfielder earned selection in Nagelsmann's Germany squad for World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg and Slovakia this month.
During his press briefing, Nagelsmann addressed Wirtz's patchy performances. "To be honest, the whole situation does not make it easy for him either," he said.
"The whole club itself [Liverpool] is not as stable this year as it was last year. It's much harder to slip into the team now.
"If you look vs [Manchester] City, they were the worse team over the 90 minutes. So it is also difficult for Flo to make any real big impact.
"Ultimately, the overall situation is such that he just needs a little more time — which is normal and you see that with other players, who move to the English Premier League as well."
Nagelsmann subsequently urged Wirtz's Liverpool colleagues to finish the opportunities he provides. "We all know what he is capable of and it is perfectly normal for a player of his age to go through a bit of a dip in form," the former Bayern Munich boss added.
"We cannot expect him to perform at the same level for three years straight.
"Instead, we all need to support him a little bit, so that he can clear his head here and then, maybe, Liverpool could also help him out by scoring some of the chances he creates.
"That would be one idea, because he does create a few chances. It is just that they somehow do not like to shoot the ball in, from those chances. That is part of the truth."
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