Florian Wirtz reminds me of 'silky' ex-Liverpool team-mate but Alexander Isak patience needed

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Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak

Florian Wirtz is quickly finding out that the Premier League is not the Bundesliga following his introduction to Liverpool this season.

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 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, with £100m of that coming up front.

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.

Patience needed over Isak

I am pretty sure we will see Alexander Isak take his first steps towards Liverpool stardom this week.

I think a lot of people were surprised when he was left out of the squad for Sunday's win at Burnley but you have to remember how little he has played since the end of last season.

Behind the scenes there will be plenty of work ongoing to get him up to speed and when I was a player, the club used to organise behind-closed-doors games against the likes of Accrington and Tranmere Rovers in an effort to get players up to speed quicker.

It is different now, of course, but he still needs match fitness, which might come in the Champions League on Wednesday night against Atletico Madrid.

Isak isn't carrying an injury and he has been working with his team-mates with Sweden and at Liverpool but the key thing is the match fitness, which is a totally different thing to just training.

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The great thing for Liverpool, of course, is that when he is near full speed, he won't need three or four chances to get his goals.

Liverpool have a world-class striker on their hands, once he is 100%.

Isak has simply been unfortunate in that he has been caught up in the politics of football over his move from Newcastle and Liverpool need to be patient with him now.