'Florian Wirtz can be outstanding for Liverpool - but Arne Slot has made a big mistake'

They are a very good player, but it might take some time. It is a sentence that could apply to pretty much all of the new signings that Liverpool made in the summer, for a variety of reasons.

Striker Alexander Isak is still working his way up to full fitness, while Milos Kerkez has had a shaky start, but made the Premier League's team of the season last year for a reason; he clearly has quality. Florian Wirtz, meanwhile, is slowly adjusting to life in England.

"I can talk about Wirtz," former Reds defender Markus Babbel tells Liverpool.com. "He is an outstanding player. He is in an unlucky situation at Liverpool because no one is in form. Hugo Ekitike is exactly the same. He is a top player and a top striker.

"If you have him on the bench and Isak starting... mamma mia! This is not too bad. The price is so high that people think these guys can beat everyone alone — just these three players.

"They are so good, but I'm not sure Arne Slot knows in his mind where it is best for Wirtz to play. I think he wanted to play with him as a number 10 but he saw it wasn't working — not at the moment, but maybe in three or four months.

"You have to find a place for him. I was really surprised he took Cody Gakpo out because he was, for me, the most dangerous player for Liverpool.

"If you take Mohamed Salah out, I would understand because he was playing really bad. But Gakpo came out and Wirtz played his position, and this was then a problem.

"This was a big mistake from Slot but you have to find a position for Wirtz because he is a creative player and he is also a hard-working player. You have to find a place.

"For Leverkusen, he always started on the left side, but he is not a left winger. In the center, it is hard to find him because there are so many players. On the wing, it is easier to find him.

"I would say he can play as a number eight because he is so hard-working. I see that not as a problem for him, but we'll see what Slot wants to play him."

While the new arrivals have generally struggled so far and patience is required, that shouldn't come as a huge shock. More difficult to explain is the collective fall off a cliff in terms of the general performance level of the team as a whole.

"The top signings came very late," Babbel says. "Isak was at the end of the transfer window. Wirtz was earlier, but everyone was expecting now Liverpool is unbeatable.

"They won five games in a row with a really bad performance. Everyone was saying 'Let them play well and no one will stop them.' They even beat Arsenal and that was in their heads: 60 or 70 per cent was enough to win games.

"In the Premier League, that is wrong. If you watch the five games they won, there was so much luck with them. One half against Everton was OK, but I haven't seen a game over 90 minutes where they performed — not once this season.

"They are professionals; they know. But Slot has to give them confidence. They're not working hard anymore, especially against the ball. To go into a challenge with this attitude, there is no chance.

"Too many players are doing too many easy mistakes. If you want to get out of this situation, you have to say 'This is my goal, and we have to defend'. With 11 players, we have to defend this goal.

"At the moment, they are conceding three or four goals and that is not acceptable."

While things have clearly unraveled for the Reds, does Slot remain the right man to turn things around? So soon after winning the Premier League title, he has credit in the bank.

"Last season, everyone was saying 'What a signing he is'," Babbel, speaking on behalf of Adventure Gamers, says.

"He comes to Liverpool and in his first season, he wins a trophy. And then after three months, you say he is not good enough anymore? For me, it is a bit too quick.

"I know the results are not good, but in the summer something happened. I had nearly the same situation in Hoffenheim. My player had a bad accident. Diogo Jota, it was a massive shock.

"Last season, the players were unbelievable. Now this season, they are not performing nearly to the best performance when the same manager is there.

"It's not an excuse because you have to play. But Mo Salah, you can't watch him. Alexis Mac Allister. Ryan Gravenberch. Even Virgil van Dijk has started now to make mistakes, and Ibrahima Konate is a catastrophe.

"The only two normal guys are Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo, and Gakpo had to get out of the team because you need a position for Florian Wirtz.

"It's very difficult at the moment. Slot has to find 11 or 13 players who are his team now, who he trusts. But it's a very difficult situation."