German football legends Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm have called for patience as Liverpool’s record signing Florian Wirtz begins his journey at Anfield.
The Reds splashed out a massive £116 million to secure the talented midfielder from Bayer Leverkusen during the off-season, setting high expectations for the 22-year-old.
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While Wirtz’s arrival has generated plenty of buzz, Schweinsteiger believes the youngster needs time, support, and the right environment to fully adapt to the Premier League’s intensity and pressure. Lahm echoed the sentiment, expressing confidence in Wirtz’s ability to succeed if given the space to grow.
Wirtz arrived with immense expectations after a glittering spell in the Bundesliga, where he scored 57 goals and provided 63 assists in 197 appearances for Leverkusen.
That being said, he is yet to register a goal or assist for Liverpool, despite showing flashes of his immense talent.
The 22-year-old impressed in last weekend’s clash against Chelsea, where his creativity repeatedly opened up the opposition – only for his teammates’ poor finishing to deny him a first assist in red.
“We have to give the players a bit of time,” Schweinsteiger said, via RTL.
“Especially when you move from the Bundesliga to the Premier League, you also have to adjust a bit.
“I’ve experienced that myself. He will delight us all in the future. Florian Wirtz is a fantastic footballer, a great character. We should be happy that we have such a player in Germany.”
“I’m not worried about Florian Wirtz at all because he’s such an outstanding, brilliant player who simply makes his teammates better,” Lahm added.
“Quality and class always prevail, and that will absolutely be the case with Florian Wirtz.”