Micah Richards has disputed one stick which has been used to beat Florian Wirtz by some critics, while also higlighting one area where the Liverpool playmaker can improve.The Reds landed a serious coup in June when clinching a £116m deal to sign the 22-year-old from Bayer Leverkusen, but since claiming an assist on his debut in the Community Shield two months ago, he’s gone nine matches with a goal contribution.Jamie Carragher has been foremost among the German’s detractors, saying that our number 7 has ‘not been at the races‘ since joining the Premier League champions, but another former top-flight defender believes a couple of intangible factors have been ignored in unflattering appraisals of the player.Richards defends Wirtz but highlights one area for improvementIn a viewers’ Q&A episode of The Rest Is Football, Richards disputed criticism of Wirtz over the lack of goals and assists, saying that his teammates have been culpable of not finishing the chances that the playmaker has created.The pundit said: “The problem is, Wirtz is taking a little bit longer to settle in than we all thought, and that’s all it is. If you scrutinise a game, Wirtz is actually creating some very good chances; they’re just not being taken at that time.“If he’d have got that assist for Salah at the weekend, then we’re thinking, ‘Oh he’s got an assist there’. The only thing with Wirtz [is] I think he’s taking a little bit too long [on the ball]. If he does it a bit sharper…“The problem is the price tag. When you’re bought for that amount of money, everyone expects now, now, now. I don’t think it’s to do with the system. The players just need to settle in.”(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)It’s not as thought Wirtz isn’t trying to have an impact in the final thirdConsidering how much Wirtz cost, there would inevitably be pressure on his shoulders to make an immediate impact for Liverpool, something which hasn’t happened as of yet. However, Richards makes a fair point in saying that the 22-year-old hasn’t been nearly as invisible as some critics have argued.As per FBref, when excluding players with fewer than 45 Premier League minutes this season, the German has the third-highest average for key passes per game at Anfield (2.04), and the second-most shot-creating actions per match with 4.48.The pundit also referenced the £116m man’s exquisite flick shortly after coming on against Chelsea last Saturday, which would’ve gone down as a majestic assist had Salah finished the subsequent chance.Wirtz could still be doing more in terms of goal contributions for Liverpool, but the same can be said of almost all his teammates in the middle and attacking thirds of the pitch, and it’s not as if the Germany international isn’t trying to make things happen – it’s just not coming off yet.Hopefully when the 22-year-old is back on Merseyside after national team duty over the next week, we’ll start to see him having a decisive impact in the final third and quietening even the most vocal critics of his performances during his first few games with the Reds.The post Micah Richards disputes Florian Wirtz criticism but says Liverpool star must improve one thing appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.