Florian Wirtz bullish over Liverpool form: ‘I know what I’m capable of’

Liverpool playmaker Florian Wirtz says he does not need time to find his feet in the Premier League and is making steady progress towards his best form.

The 22-year-old Germany international arrived at Anfield this summer from Bayer Leverkusen in what was briefly a club record deal worth up to £116m.

Wirtz, who turned down interest from Bayern Munich Munich to play in England, has shown flashes of his undoubted quality in his five Liverpool appearances to date, but has yet to deliver a match-defining performance.

Florian Wirtz told to ‘stay cool’ by former Liverpool manager

Jürgen Klopp, the former Liverpool manager now working as Red Bull’s global head of soccer, has called on fans to give his countryman time and told Wirtz to “stay cool”.

Wirtz acknowledges that he would have liked to hit the ground running in England, but insists he is confident things will click into place sooner rather than later.

“I would have liked to have scored a goal or collected a few points,” Wirtz told Sky Germany. “But no matter what anyone says, I’m staying cool.

“I know what I’m capable of and I also know that I’ll really bring it onto the pitch at some point, so I’m just staying cool. That’s a good reminder.

‘It will come at some point, and then everything will be fine’

“I don’t want to hear it all the time, ‘Give him time, give him time.’ Instead, I just try to do better each time than before.

“And sometimes there are just phases where things might not go your way; I haven’t had that very often in my career.

“Once I’ve got through it – that’s perhaps harsh, because I’m not playing badly, I just haven’t got the scoring points yet – it will come at some point, and then everything will be fine.

“It’s no secret that I’d like to have more so far, but I’m patient, and as I just said, I know full well that I can play good football. Sooner or later, I’m sure that things will return to normal.”

Liverpool face Southampton in the League Cup on Tuesday night, with their next match Premier League game away to Crystal Palace on Saturday.