Premier League rival calls out 'absurd' Florian Wirtz discussion

Newcastle star Nick Woltemade has slammed criticism of Florian Wirtz as “absurd” following the German’s slow start to life at Liverpool. The midfielder joined the Reds for £116m in the summer from Bayer Leverkusen.

But the 22-year-old has not yet matched expectations as a Liverpool player. He has four assists to his name in all competitions - jusr one of those coming in the Premier League.

He thought he finally had his first goal for the Reds against Sunderland but his strike was eventually ruled as an own-goal from Nordi Mukiele. Newcastle and Germany star Woltemade has hit out at the criticism that Wirtz has faced so far.

Speaking to Germany outlet Stern, he slammed his critics as “absurd”, before adding: “This is a pseudo-discussion. Anyone who understands something about football sees what incredible skills he has. Flo will make his way, even in the Premier League.”

Unlike Wirtz, his Germany teammate Woltemade has enjoyed a quick start to life as a Newcastle player following his £69m move from Stuttgart. The 23-year-old has scored seven goals in 18 appearances for Newcastle in all competitions.

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Woltemade’s glowing words about Wirtz come amid similar comments from Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk. The Dutchman has recently told the playmaker not to listen to his critics and instead focus on his own performances.

He said: “There’s a very good reason why a club like us bought him: he’s an outstanding, world-class player in my eyes who can only become even better but it will take a bit of time. For him he has to stay level-headed, don’t get too high, don’t get too low.

“Don’t get dragged into the outside world of when it’s very good or very bad and don’t get dragged into the numbers game.

“Nowadays there are a lot of eyes on if you score goals or have an assist or keep clean sheets but it is also about what you see and the contribution you have for the team, that’s not just shown in the numbers but in what you see and that should sometimes be the focus. He was involved in the equaliser but he did many other good things, in the last game [at West Ham ] as well.”

Wirtz will continue his search for his first Liverpool goal this weekend. The Reds travel to Leeds United on Saturday afternoon - Daniel Farke’s men coming into that match fresh off the back of a 3-1 win against Chelsea at Elland Road.