Former Arsenal and Manchester City forward Paul Dickov has sympathised with Florian Wirtz’s tough start at Liverpool.
Wirtz joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen in aa £116m record deal in the summer, but has endured a difficult few months in England.
The German is yet to provide a single goal or assist in the Premier League, having arrived at Anfield as a back-to-back winner of the Bundesliga’s Player of the Season prize.
Liverpool have struggled as a collective this season and currently sit 11th in the table. The champions lost to Nottingham Forest on Sunday, in the absence of the injured Wirtz, to lose for the sixth time in seven games.
Dickov believes Liverpool’s poor form has contributed to Wirtz’s individual struggle. He pointed to the performances of some of the club’s big names, insisting the summer signing needs help form those around him.
Wirtz needs help from Liverpool teammates
Speaking to Essential.Football, Dickov said: “I feel a little bit for him. He came with a huge price tag. He’s obviously a talented player, we all know that. But he’s come into the team and sometimes when you move to a big club like Liverpool, you need your teammates around you to perform and to help you settle in a little bit.
“You look at Liverpool’s form, and the big players are struggling at the minute and it makes it even more difficult for somebody of Wirtz’ age. He is young, and even somebody so talented would struggle to come into this team and hit that ground running.
“At any point in any time in your career you’re going to have spells where things aren’t happening, and you look for your teammates to try and help you out a little bit.
“I don’t see that in Liverpool at the minute I just think there’s too many players that are underperforming for them. And it really does make it even more difficult for new signings coming in to settle as quickly as they would like.”
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