There is no getting around the fact that £116m is an awful lot of money.
Even in today’s football economy, where a few shirts and a keyring at the club shop might set you back a similar amount, £116m is a startling sum.
Given the same figure would be comfortably enough to buy an entire football club anywhere outside the Premier League, it is the sort of price tag that demands an immediate return on investment.
It is for that reason, among a myriad of other issues at Liverpool, that Florian Wirtz is fast becoming the most worrisome.
Briefly a British transfer record signing, Wirtz has been thoroughly underwhelming since his arrival from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, but let’s preface this with a slight concession: he hasn’t been dreadful.
Despite the obvious challenge of adapting to his new surroundings, Wirtz has cut a busy figure for Liverpool, determined to show his worth.
According to stats compiled by Fbref, of Premier League players in his position the 22-year-old is well within the top 10% of performers for passes attempted, progressive passes and shot-creating actions, and is just outside the top 25% for touches in the penalty box.
There have been moments of excellence too – a little turn here, a crafty ball there and his flick to Mohamed Salah at Chelsea may have been the best of the lot.
He is certainly not hiding.
Yet ‘not awful’ doesn’t cut the mustard after a nine-figure outlay. Nor should it, even mitigating for relative youth and the challenge of adapting to a new league.
Though his price tag was not his choosing, expecting him to begin conducting the orchestra rather than simply chiming the triangle is not unreasonable.
The German started five of Liverpool’s first six Premier League games, a streak that has flipped to just two of the last five since the start of October. He’s also yet to contribute a goal or assist domestically.
Head coach Arne Slot has moved Wirtz across multiple positions, playing both centrally and more recently at left wing. As a result, it is perhaps understandable that consistency has not followed.
But part of the reason he has been shifted out wide is a response to his impact in the number 10 position that he was ostensibly signed to play in.
Slot has already figured out that Liverpool currently lose more than they gain from playing Wirtz centrally, and that’s what should concern supporters hoping to see him succeed.
Technically, he undoubtedly has the ability to succeed but physically, he has been bullied and bounced to the periphery of far too many games already.
Speaking after Liverpool’s 3-0 loss to Manchester City on Sunday, Gary Neville likened him to a “little boy” while former England star Joe Cole branded him “lightweight”.
At 22 years old, Wirtz could yet find his feet in the Premier League, though a year of beef burgers and deadlifts might be just what he needs.
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