Germany national team director Rudi Voller has told Liverpool the \u201cbig difference\u201d for Florian Wirtz between there and Bayer Leverkusen which is hurting his adjustment to his new side.<\/p>\n
The Reds splashed around \u00a3450million on new talent in the summer. Arne Slot is clearly hopeful of pushing his side far beyond Premier League rivals, having already won the title last season.<\/p>\n
Currently, Liverpool<\/strong><\/a> are second in the league, slipping back from top spot after five wins in their first five games, with a couple of recent losses.<\/p>\n Some of their summer signings, Hugo Ekitike in particular, have been great additions, but others are struggling to adapt \u2013 Wirtz<\/strong><\/a> the main one.<\/p>\n After his \u00a3116million transfer, Wirtz has just one assist \u2013 in the Community Shield \u2013 and no goal contributions in nine games between the Premier League and Champions League.<\/p>\n After struggling for form, the German was dropped in the game against Chelsea, which Liverpool lost 2-1.<\/p>\n Germany chief Voller has detailed why Wirtz is struggling with the change from Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool.<\/p>\n \u201cThe big difference is: at Bayer Leverkusen, despite the individual quality of the other players, he was always looked for,\u201d Voller told Sky90<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cPlayers like Granit Xhaka, Alejandro Grimaldo or Robert Andrich certainly ran the game. But the moment Florian made himself available, he always got the ball. Even as a young guy, he was already the chief.<\/p>\n \u201cI deliberately watched some Liverpool games with him: he does an incredible amount of work, runs a lot, makes many sprints, and also goes deep. But he isn\u2019t played to in the way he was used to at Leverkusen or with the national team.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s something that has to be developed over weeks and months. I know that he\u2019s not one of those divas in his position who stand around with their heads down if they\u2019re not passed to three times. Florian isn\u2019t like that.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not only an extraordinary footballer, he also has a great character. He will give everything from the first to the last minute, always push forward. He also has incredible running stats. He will assert himself.\u201d<\/p>\n MORE ON LIVERPOOL FROM F365: Indeed, a look at some of his stats show how differently Wirtz is being used between the two sides.<\/p>\n In the Premier League for Liverpool, the German is taking 48.7 touches per game, and is picking the ball up in a lot of areas of the midfield, sometimes dropping deep to collect.<\/p>\n For Leverkusen, he had far more touches of the ball per game (73.4) and spent more time on the left-hand side of the field than any other area, already in an advanced position to do something with the ball.<\/p>\n
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