Virgil van Dijk has urged Florian Wirtz to ignore his Premier League statistics and maintain confidence in his world-class ability at Liverpool. The 22-year-old German thought he had scored his first goal for the club against Sunderland on Wednesday, only for the 81st-minute equaliser to be ruled an own goal by defender Nordi Mukiele. The decision leaves Wirtz without a goal or assist in 13 league appearances for the champions.
Van Dijk, Liverpool's captain, insisted Wirtz is on the right path and will prove his elite level. '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,' van Dijk said. '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.'
The Netherlands captain, who himself joined Liverpool for a then world-record fee for a defender of £75m in 2018, has spoken to Wirtz about the pressure of a big-money transfer. However, van Dijk does not believe that is the issue. 'You can talk about it as much as you want ... but you have to deal with it yourself,' he added. 'He is still such a young, talented boy who came to the club for a lot of money but he didn't pay that money, he's part of the bigger picture of trying to be a success here.'
Van Dijk also addressed Mohamed Salah's recent omission from the starting line-up, with the Egyptian dropped for the second consecutive game against Sunderland. Salah was introduced at half-time after Arne Slot was disappointed with Cody Gakpo's performance. 'Mo has been like he should be: disappointed,' van Dijk said. 'But we need him and he will still be important like he has been. I'm not worried. It's not like you have unlimited credit, everyone has to perform.'
