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When Arne Slot spoke about wanting to add "extra weapons" to his Liverpool team heading into the summer, it is likely that Florian Wirtz was one player who he had in the center of his mind.
At that point, news was still to emerge regarding Liverpool's interest in the former Bayer Leverkusen star. The expectation in the game at that stage was that Wirtz was likely to follow the well-trodden path to Bayern Munich.
Slot's pitch to the playmaker was strong enough to convince him that a Premier League switch was the right next step, though, and the 22-year-old moved to Anfield over the Allianz Arena. At $157 million (£116 million) including add-ons, he was Liverpool's record signing until Alexander Isak came in from Newcastle United on deadline day.
Up to now, Wirtz has been getting used to the increased intensity of the Premier League. And with a $150M-plus price tag, he was always going to be under scrutiny.
But anyone who is doubting the player's value has spoken too soon. Of course, Wirtz would have wanted to get off the mark in a Liverpool jersey, but three games in, there have been mitigating factors.
"It's a different league and a different kind of football," Wirtz said this week. "When will I score for the first time? I have no idea. Hopefully, in the next game. It will come eventually."
So far, Wirtz has faced Bournemouth, Newcastle United and Arsenal — each, in their own way, extremely tough. Bournemouth can make any game crazy with its intensity and running power while the other fixtures were unique.
Newcastle, as evidenced by Anthony Gordon's wild challenge on Virgil van Dijk, made it a physical battle with no space to work in. Slot said afterward that the game could barely be described as a soccer match.
Against Arsenal, in a tight title battle, it was another contest broken up into pieces. Mikel Arteta was happy to make it a set-piece shootout, and Dominik Szoboszlai settled it with a scorcher.
Wirtz was not hugely involved in any of the three matches he has played so far in terms of scoring, assisting and creating. But few games moving forward are likely to be anything like them in how they play out.
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Against Burnley at Turf Moor, that is much more the kind of game that he was signed for: one where Liverpool will dominate possession and be expected to break down a low block. That is where Wirtz really excels.
Atletico Madrid in the Champions League and Everton in the Merseyside should offer similar challenges, and while each will be intense in their own way, there will be slightly more room to work in that there has been so far. Before the October international break, Liverpool also plays Southampton, Galatasaray and Chelsea.
Wirtz's superb free-kick for Germany against Northern Ireland was a reminder of the quality that he has, and Liverpool does not spend big money without being fully convinced.
In the next run of games — a much more normal set of fixtures, in comparison, by which time Wirtz will be much more up to speed — Liverpool see the real version of its exciting new playmaker. In terms of "extra weapons", he is the biggest of them all.
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