Florian Wirtz believes he is "stronger" for experiencing a tough start to his Liverpool career after joining from Bayer Leverkusen last summer for a fee that could rise to £116m.
The 22-year-old midfielder did not score his first goal for the Reds until the home win against Wolves on 27 December, which was the first in a run of six goals in 10 games for the Germany international.
"It [the first few months at Liverpool] wasn't an easy phase," Wirtz told German television show Sportschau.
"It's sometimes good that things don't always go upwards and that you experience a dip and grow stronger because of it.
"That's how I see it now as well – it has made me a bit stronger. I had to overcome resistance and adapt. I had to learn to become stronger and hold onto the ball."
Wirtz scored twice and set up the other two goals in Germany's 4-3 friendly win against Switzerland on Friday.
