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Liverpool hero John Aldridge has suggested Arne Slot should “tweak one or two things” in order to help Florian Wirtz, having compared the summer signing to one of his former teammates.
It has been a tricky start to life on Merseyside for Wirtz since he made the switch from Bayer Leverkusen in what was, at the time, a Premier League record deal.
The transfer was met with much anticipation, with the German international having built a reputation as one of the world’s top players during his time in the Bundesliga, leading to interest from the likes of Manchester City, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid.
Wirtz though hasn’t yet found his best form since arriving at Anfield, having recorded just the one assist in his five appearances for Liverpool so far.
The international break didn’t offer him any respite either, with German media criticizing him for his performances against Slovakia and Northern Ireland, despite scoring a brilliant free-kick in the latter game.
Writing in his column for the Liverpool Echo, Aldridge believes the switch from the Bundesliga to the Premier League may have been more difficult than expected, although he is still backing Wirtz to find his feet.
“Florian Wirtz is quickly finding out that the Premier League is not the Bundesliga following his introduction to Liverpool this season,” Aldridge said.
“Opponents are pinpointing the Germany international as the dangerman now at Anfield and he has been tightly marked in all four of the Reds' games so far. I think he is still adjusting to the lack of space that he previously used to enjoy for Bayer Leverkusen but he will get there in time, he is such a smooth player to watch.
“Arne Slot might have to tweak one or two things to get Wirtz properly purring but he has shown flashes of quality and good players often find themselves being crowded out because other teams quickly figure out they are the ones who can make things happen.
“I think this is happening at the moment for Wirtz and he reminds me a bit of the great Peter Beardsley (once of Everton and Liverpool) in his movements, he is such a silky player at times, he almost glides across the turf in his movements.
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“When you come with a price tag, the demands and the expectations are instant and it has been no different for Wirtz, who moved from Leverkusen for a fee that could eventually be worth £116M ($158M), with £100M ($137M) of that coming up front.
"He was a club-record signing before Alexander Isak joined, let's not forget."
Aldridge added: “That being said, the value shows how good a player he is and the fact he is still only 22 is proof that his career is very much still in its infancy. He just needs to be himself, play his natural game and it will become clear to everyone why he came with such a reputation and a price tag soon enough.
“He has no control over the fee that has been paid for him and he will only get better and better. With the two games against Atletico Madrid and Everton at Anfield this week, it feels like the perfect time for him to properly come to the party.”
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