Florian Wirtz's Liverpool team-mates have been blamed for the £116 million ($156m) man's slow start to life at Anfield by Germany legend Rudi Voller. After joining the Reds in June on a long-term contract until at least 2030, Wirtz made a bright debut in the Community Shield, providing an assist against Crystal Palace, though Liverpool eventually lost on penalties. However, things have gone south since then.

Florian Wirtz is putting in the hard yards as he is doing extra training for Germany in a bid to kickstart his Liverpool career after a slow start to life at Anfield. Since completing a whopping £116 million ($156m) transfer from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, Wirtz has struggled to adjust to his new surroundings and has not had a single goal involvement in the Premier League.

Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann has defended Florian Wirtz and blamed his slow start to life at Liverpool on the creator's new team-mates. The Reds won the race to sign Wirtz over the summer, beating off competition from the likes of Bayern Munich and Manchester City to land the youngster. And Nagelsmann believes those around Wirtz at club level are to blame for his early-season struggles.

Florian Wirtz’s record-breaking move to Liverpool has sparked intense scrutiny after a slow start in England. The 22-year-old, hailed as one of Germany’s brightest footballing talents, has yet to score or assist in 10 appearances for the Reds, drawing unfair “flop” labels. But Ilkay Gundogan has leapt to his defence, calling such criticism “completely exaggerated” and insisting that those doubting Wirtz “don’t understand football.”

Nick Woltemade got the job done for Germany with a set-piece winner in the first half as the four-time world champions edged out Northern Ireland 1-0 to retain their position at the top of Group A in Europe's World Cup qualifying. The Germans lacked overall quality, as they had only four shots on target in the game and needed more creativity in the midfield.