Slot backs £100m Wirtz to muscle way into top form
The Independent
|December 20, 2025
Arne Slot has told Florian Wirtz to take heart from the Premier League greats who made a slow start to life in England.
The Liverpool head coach admitted his £100m buy would rather have begun with a flurry of goals and assists, whereas, after 21 games, Wirtz is still yet to open his account for his new club. But a host of imports have taken time to adjust to the division, with players such as Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Eden Hazard, David Silva and Cristiano Ronaldo all displaying their finest form after getting used to the demands of English football.
And Slot said: “Of course, every player would prefer to have a flying start with goals and assists and everything but it does not always work like this. He is not the first one and is not the last one to have to adjust to the Premier League. So many of the best players to ever play here took a while, maybe even longer, to become the star they are now.”
Slot believes Wirtz is improving and feels he is better equipped to deal with the physicality of the Premier League now.
This story is from the December 20, 2025 edition of The Independent.
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