Liverpool are back. The latest interminable international break has wrapped up, and Arne Slot will know that his side’s form needs to change, having suffered three successive defeats before the October pause.
But the truth is, the cracks can be traced right through to the start of the campaign. There are many reasons for this, one of which is the heft of Liverpool’s summer spending.
Sure, Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz completed bumper moves to Merseyside and are indeed the most expensive players in Premier League history, but it’s understandable that Slot’s new-look side might require a bedding-in period.
But, especially in the case of Wirtz, improvements are needed.
Why the next few weeks are crucial for Wirtz
Wirtz left Bayer Leverkusen for Liverpool in July as a legend. Though he’s only 22, the German playmaker spearheaded Xabi Alonso’s invincible, multi-trophy-winning domestic season of 2023/24, and he was crowned the Bundesliga Player of the Year.
A high-profile move to the Premier League always comes with a heavy dose of anxiety, and the silky attacking midfielder has done little to prove Liverpool will receive bang for their buck so far, having failed to notch a goal involvement across eight matches after assisting Hugo Ekitike’s opener in the Community Shield.
Of course, drawing conclusions at this early stage would be reductive, and there is every confidence and expectation that Wirtz will begin firing on all cylinders soon.
But there’s no denying it’s been a slow start, and every passing game will now come weighted with unwanted extra scrutiny.
With the player having taken the no. 7 shirt from Luis Diaz this summer, Wirtz is expected to perform, but there’s already a young wide forward waiting in the wings who might be eyeing that particular shirt already.
The Liverpool talent who could take the #7 shirt
Liverpool have any number of talented young players in their grasp, but none more so than Rio Ngumoha, who has quickly become a household name on Merseyside for his match-winning goal against Newcastle United at St. James’ Park in August.
Aged 16 at the time, the electric-paced winger found space and composure in the final embers to seal all three points for the Reds during that highly-charged contest, adding a priceless moment to a career catalogue which is sure to be well-worn by the time he hangs up his boots, many years from now.
Hailed as a “phenomenal talent” by former youth coach Saul Isaksson-Hurst, the former Chelsea prospect has featured five times across all competitions so far this season and is so talented that FSG decided against signing a direct Diaz replacement this summer, instead promoting the teenager to a more prominent role.
Wirtz is only 22, but he’s struggling to adapt to the pace and intensity of the Premier League at this present moment.
Ngumoha, however, has already broken his seasonal duck, and given that Isaksson-Hurst continued to stress that he expects to see the forward on the Ballon d’Or list one day, there’s every reason for Liverpool fans to get excited.
And there’s plenty of cause for Wirtz to start looking back over his shoulder at that.
1
James Vaughan
16 yrs, 8 months, 27 days
2
James Milner
16 yrs, 11 months, 22 days
3
Wayne Rooney
16 yrs, 11 months, 25 days
4
Rio Ngumoha
16 yrs, 11 months, 26 days
5
Cesc Fabregas
17 yrs, 3 months, 21 days
He’s still so young, and already playing such convincing football, the fleet-footed talent may even end up surpassing Wirtz and taking that shirt from him, should things not work out for the Germany star in the end.