Slot tips his £116m man to be derby mastermind

REDS BOSS SAYS WIRTZ CAN TOUGH IT OUT

- BY PAUL GORST

LIVERPOOL V EVERTON 12.30PM, TNT SPORTS

ARNE SLOT believes Florian Wirtz has the right mentality to handle the Merseyside derby.

And the Reds head coach, whose side host Everton at lunchtime, claims his £116million summer signing will not be inhibited by his huge price tag.

The Germany forward has yet to score a goal or create an assist in the Premier League since his move from Bayer Leverkusen.

But he turned in his most encouraging display in Wednesday's 3-2 Champions League win against Atletico Madrid.

“To say that he's only an artist doesn't do him justice,” Slot said. “He can be mean as well. Otherwise, you can't reach the levels he's reaching. He works incredibly hard. So that mentality he has inside of him, and you see it when he loses the ball once or twice. He's not going to hide, he wants the third one, he wants the fourth one.