Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade has come to the defence of compatriot Florian Wirtz after the playmaker was criticised following a slow start to life at Liverpool.
Wirtz secured a high-profile move to Anfield over the summer as part of a hefty spending spree on Merseyside.
Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez also joined the Premier League champions earlier in the year.
However, Liverpool have made a poor start to their title defence and are currently eight points off league leaders Arsenal after 11 matches.
And Wirtz in particular has come in for criticism for a number of sub-par showings for Arne Slot’s side.
Wirtz's form 'a problem'
The Germany international is yet to score for the Reds following his big money arrival from Bayer Leverkusen, and has registered just three assists, two of which came in a 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League.
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville labelled Wirtz’s form “a problem” as the 22-year-old put in a disappointing showing in Liverpool’s 3-0 loss at Manchester City last week.
Woltemade has since come to the defence of the former Bayer Leverkusen playmaker.
The forward, like Wirtz, also made the switch from the Bundesliga to the Premier League over the summer, moving to Newcastle from VfB Stuttgart.
The 23-year-old has made a commendable start to life with the Magpies, scoring four goals in his opening eight league appearances, including key strikes in wins over Wolves and Nottingham Forest.
'He's doing very well'
“For every player, adjusting isn’t easy. But he’s doing very well,” Woltemade said of Wirtz to RTL/n-tv/sport.de.
“On paper, you might not see the goals, but if you compare my games with his, he’s much more involved in play.
“I’ve probably been in the right spot three or four times, received the ball and scored – but he’s very active in the game, gets lots of touches and makes good plays.”
In his opening 11 Premier League appearances, Wirtz has created just one clear-cut chance, the same as Manchester United backup goalkeeper Altay Bayindir.
