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Jamie Carragher has been hugely impressed with the improvements in Florian Wirtz and wants the Liverpool playmaker to "shove those words down Gary Neville's throat" after the ex-Manchester United star claimed he played like a "little boy" earlier this season.

The German signed for a then British-record fee in the summer after several impressive years with Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. He arrived with a huge reputation, but endured a slow start.

He struggled to post a goal involvement for weeks, leading to the pressure ramping up, and his display in the 3-0 loss at Manchester City had Neville questioning what Liverpool do with Wirtz, admitting he was a problem for Arne Slot.

The pundit said: "Let's just call it as it is. It's an issue. He's £100m+, and to be fair, I said a few weeks ago [Milos] Kerkez looked like a little boy out there. Today I thought Wirtz looked like a little boy."

Wirtz has since shown huge improvement and is settling into life in the Premier League, having more and more influence over games. He's had six goal involvements in his last eight outings and Carragher has challenged the German to prove Neville wrong when Liverpool host City, seeking revenge this weekend.

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He said on Sky Sports : "Wirtz is getting better all the time. Eventually, the mantle has to be passed on, and there is no doubt the lad has real quality. The Premier League has lost Kevin De Bruyne, (but) we have gained Wirtz.

"We are talking about special players coming into our league. I have watched him a lot and thought about whether he can get to De Bruyne's level. When I watch Wirtz, I think he could be lovely on the eye like David Silva, but he has almost a bit of both.

"I'm not sure if he will get the numbers De Bruyne got. But, talking about a slow start... one of the games was City away and Gary Neville said he looked like a boy out there - now he has City at Anfield (this weekend). He is confident. He has gone from a little boy, and it's a great opportunity to shove those words down Neville's throat."

Carragher himself was doubtful over whether Wirtz could cut it several months ago, after witnessing his difficult start to life at Liverpool. He cited how some of the best foreign imports hit the ground running - and wasn't convinced the German would come good.

The 22-year-old has always retained the faith of his manager, who called for patience during a difficult spell for Wirtz. His struggles coincided with Liverpool's dip in form but they looked back to their best at the weekend with a 4-1 win over Newcastle - where Wirtz got a goal and an assist.

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