Florian Wirtz opens up on tough start with Liverpool after Jurgen Klopp comments

Florian Wirtz has suggested that he is "staying cool" despite making a tough start at Liverpool.

The 22-year-old moved to Anfield in the summer transfer window from Bayer Leverkusen for a reported fee of £116m, and became the most expensive German footballer in history, breaking the record set by Kai Havertz when he moved to Chelsea from Leverkusen in 2020 for £71m.

Wirtz has failed to register a goal or an assist in all competitions for the Reds, and he was recently dropped to the bench during Liverpool's 2-1 win over Everton in the Merseyside derby clash at Anfield in the Premier League.

Former Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has advised him to "stay cool", and the attacking midfielder has admitted that he is not bothered by the noise coming from outside about his underwhelming start to the season.

Wirtz opens up on his tough start

The German international has stressed that he has not been playing poorly, contrary to what many people think, and that only goals and assists are currently missing from his game, which he expects to come at some point.

Wirtz was one of the standout players at Leverkusen, but he has struggled so far to make the transition to a different league. It appears that he is working to adjust to the pace and physicality of the league, and Liverpool are more than happy to give him the time to settle down.

Reflecting on the message from Klopp, the Reds attacker told Sky Deutschland: "Yes, of course I would have liked to have scored a goal or collected a few assists. 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 to the pitch at some point, so I'm just staying cool. That's a good advice.

"I hear it often. I don't want to hear it all the time: "give it time, give it time." Instead, I simply try to do better each time than before. And sometimes there are phases where things might not go well for you; I haven't had that very often in my career. Once I get through it—that's perhaps harsh, because I'm not playing badly, I just haven't got the points yet—it will come eventually, and then everything will be fine."

Is Wirtz getting unfair criticism?

There are suggestions that Arne Slot has probably not figured out how to make the best use of Wirtz, although it was his vision that attracted the German international to move to Liverpool in the first place.

Wirtz was expected to link up with wide attackers and play behind the striker, but he finds himself playing in a different set-up where he does not get the space and time needed to make the perfect pass or a run into the box.

Journalist David Lynch, however, thinks that there are positive signs from the attacker that have convinced him that Wirtz is going to be a top player at Liverpool.

At the end of the day, he will be judged based on numbers, but some of the criticisms already thrown at him are likely unfair and over the top.

Liverpool have made a perfect start to the 2025-26 Premier League campaign, but they have yet to produce the free-flowing football that we generally associate with them. Many believe that the Reds will get even better when the likes of Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, and Alexander Isak find their feet and start delivering.