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Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy has offered his thoughts on why Florian Wirtz has struggled to find his best form for the Reds following his big-money transfer.
The Reds agreed to a £116 million ($153.9 million) deal to secure Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen during the summer window. While he provided an assist for Hugo Ekitike's opening goal in the Community Shield clash with Crystal Palace more than two months ago, Wirtz has failed to register a goal or assist in any competition for Liverpool, including the Premier League, since that moment.
His displays, whether operating as a No. 10 or out wide, have divided opinion amongst supporters and pundits.
Speaking to Wetbasis, former Liverpool midfielder Murphy explained: "Talking about the Wirtz subject, one week he's playing with Ekitike and one week he's playing with Isak.
"The wide player doesn't change on the right, but it does a bit on the left. He's also had a mixture of midfield partnerships behind him, and when you're a No. 10, you start building up relationships with the midfielders.
"Who's going to give me the ball early, who can I trust and rely on to get me the ball early. If we talk about Wirtz for example.
"So he's got to adapt to this amazing physicality of going to play in Newcastle, or playing against Arsenal, these two physically powerful teams and adapt really quickly.
"In addition to that, adapt to the expectations and pressure of the supporters and the media of what he is supposed to deliver.
"I've seen enough of the brilliant moments from Wirtz to not be concerned. The talent, the vision, the skill set he has is there for us all to see.
"I think his biggest issue is his adaptation to the speed of the Premier League and I know from personal experience, that only comes from playing. Getting your mind and your body used to that."
Wirtz has crafted more opportunities than any other player in the squad. Murphy added: "I don't think it's a tactical or positional thing. I think he's found himself in great positions many times.
"There's a statistic that emerged the day before the weekend's fixtures that in all competitions, he's crafted more opportunities than anyone else.
"Even when you look at the Chelsea game, we're not talking about Wirtz positively or Liverpool positively, but his first touch when he came on was this incredible pass to [Mohamed] Salah. Nine out of ten times, Salah scores that.
"Had he done that, Liverpool might have won the game and we would have been talking about Wirtz's brilliance. Even against Everton, he put it on a plate for Salah who missed and for [Jeremie] Frimpong who kicked fresh air."
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