Mirror

Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher claims rubbished as Liverpool icon gives Florian Wirtz verdict

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Speaking exclusively to the Mirror via Video Gamer, he said: "I've always said the solution isn't spending £200million and buying the best players in the world, which we have, it's about getting the right balance."Last year, [Slot] didn't spend any money, changed the way we played with Jurgen's team but they were still used to the way they played because they're all good footballers. We've signed five players, Frimpong, Kerkez, Ekitike, Isak and Wirtz, that's five new players coming into first-team, that'll take time."They're young, inexperienced, as much as they're good individual players you have to give them time to work, it'd be great if they hit the ground running and everything was great."I think long-term it will work but it will take time, they're so used to Jurgen in terms of how we played, this is a completely new set of players, new to Liverpool, some new to the country, they're younger, I can see they have good character so I have no worries that they won't comeback and be strong again."He continued: "When we brought all these players, thought we were all going to win the league and we were going to run away with it, I didn't."Now we're in this difficult period, I'm not going to discount them and say they're not good enough or Arne Slot isn't.



It's going to take time because they're good players, good characters and I can tell you once we get back to what we're doing, everyone is going to jump on the bandwagon."I have no fear whatsoever; not to say we're going to win the league, but if you look at the team and characters, we will be back challenging again."However, former England stars Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville have not held back in their assessments of Florian Wirtz.The 22-year-old registered his maiden competitive assists for the Reds in their commanding Champions League triumph over Eintracht Frankfurt, before showcasing glimpses of brilliance in the victory against Real Madrid.Yet Wirtz has found life difficult in the Premier League, with his struggles laid bare during a punishing afternoon for Liverpool in Greater Manchester.Following the defeat, Neville remarked: "I thought Wirtz in particular - it was a really bad day for him. But he's £120million, you're going to have to stand up soon."I mean he's obviously got something.

He's a German international of great standing and he looks well short of what you'd expect from a top physical match."They've got to get him up to speed and get that tenacity into him that means he can get into form. He's played well in Europe, but it's a different game to the Premier League."He played well at Frankfurt and against Real Madrid at home, but he's found it really tough in the Premier League.