'I saw major signal of clear Liverpool change after Florian Wirtz moment and $328M moves'

Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk ended up taking the headlines as Liverpool beat Sunderland but Florian Wirtz deserves plenty of praise too as his exciting development continues

Florian Wirtz during the Premier League game between Sunderland and Liverpool.(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)

Liverpool spending $600M in one summer — even if half of that amount was recouped in sales — was a step away from the norm. And while the full extent of the rebuild is yet to be felt in a positive sense, it eventually will.

To call this campaign a transitional season for Arne Slot's side would be putting it mildly. Captain Virgil van Dijk has spoken regularly about the need to find consistency, but after a dire period around November, it feels closer than at any point in this season to date.

"There’s plenty of improvement if you compare our games to that period, but I feel like we’re still not where we want to be," he told reporters at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday. "That’s down to us. Games like tonight show we’re in a good way, but we have to keep going."

It is telling that the players who have stepped up in recent weeks have been a combination of old and new. Van Dijk and his center-back partner, Ibrahima Konate, were exceptional at Sunderland.

Florian Wirtz, in attack, was a bright spark, and Hugo Ekitike, though he has had a quieter couple of games, has been in good form throughout the last few months.

Milos Kerkez was given a rest in the North East, but he has started to show signs of why he will prove to be good value even at $54 million (£40 million). And when Giovanni Leoni is fit, and he is joined by Jeremy Jacquet, the age of the defensive unit will drastically reduce.

Steven Gerrard compared Florian Wirtz to Zinedine Zidane

Wirtz, in particular, stood out at Sunderland. In the first half, he was a rare creative spark, hitting the post with one clever effort and generally being a magnet for the ball.

His teammates — even Mohamed Salah, who has tended to be the main man in recent seasons — were keen to give the 22-year-old German the ball at every opportunity.

In the same way that the best version of Manchester City had Rodri as a pivot at the base of its midfield, around which everything else stemmed, Wirtz is a similar level of instrumental from a higher starting point.

Now bulkier and more suited to the Premier League than when he arrived, the work that Wirtz has undergone away from the pitch has paid off. Meanwhile, his class on the ball was never in doubt.

As Sunderland put multiple players around him in an attempt to snuff him out, Wirtz found a way to wriggle out time and time again. He was pushed off the ball a couple of times, but far more reflective of his performance were the flicks, tricks, and drops of the shoulder that saw him evade his markers.

When Liverpool spent a combined $328 million (£241 million) on signing Wirtz and Alexander Isak, it was with a post-Salah era in mind. Though we have only seen half of that investment properly so far, there is no reason to doubt that it will prove to be a wise one.

Florian Wirtz is challenged by Nilson Angulo during Sunderland vs Liverpool.(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Isak is Premier League proven and his issues this season have been purely fitness-related; first, his summer strike caused problems with his match sharpness, and then a broken leg.

Wirtz, clearly, is getting to grips with his new environment. Named Liverpool's January Player of the Month in the lead-up to the win at Sunderland, he then continued that solid form.

There is even more to come from Wirtz — at 22, he is only in a very early part of his career — but even Salah was looking to him at every opportunity on Wednesday. On that front, it is a clear signal regarding a changing of the guard.