Liverpool signing slammed as ‘non-existent’ can follow in Moises Caicedo’s footsteps
Liverpool spent record sums of money in the summer transfer window but are yet to hit top form depite topping the Premier League table.
Winners from Federico Chiesa (89th minute), then 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha (99th minute), Dominik Szoboszlai (81st minute) and Mohamed Salah (95th minute) have been necessary in each game so far.
Liverpool now turn their attention to the Champions League and will hope Alexis Mac Allister’s return to open training means he can be involved against Atletico Madrid.
Meanwhile, sources close to Football Insider suggest Slot will rotate between Andy Robertson and Milos Kerkez at left-back.
Jason Cundy calls Florian Wirtz ‘non-existent’
Speaking live on talkSPORT, Jason Cundy and Jamie O’Hara had a chat about Florian Wirtz and his under-the-radar start to life in England. He’s not the first person to criticise the playmaker after Steve Nicol’s was critical of Wirtz’s performance against Burnley performance.
“They’ve all looked off it, though. Florian Wirtz – sorry. Can we talk about Florian Wirtz for a minute. No-one is saying anything because Liverpool are winning, right? He has been non-existent!
“The reason he’s getting away with it is because Liverpool keep winning. You wait til Liverpool put in a bit of a stinker and don’t win, then it will start. No-one is talking about it yet and I’m raising it now. Florian Wirtz has gone under the radar.”
Wirtz can follow in Moises Caicedo’s footsteps
When asked by O’Hara if he thinks Wirtz has been bad, Cundy conceded that it hasn’t been long enough to judge him yet.
Then, he compared him to Moises Caicedo.
Cundy said: “I remember Moises Caicedo at Chelsea. Everyone was piling on him. Why? Because Chelsea weren’t great and we weren’t winning.
“Liverpool have been really average. They are the first team in Premier League history to score four winners in the last 10 minutes. Let me tell you now, they’re sitting on 12, they could be sitting on four.
“They’re getting away with it a little bit and listen, credit to them. It’s actually a back alley compliment. But wait until Florian Wirtz doesn’t rock up.”
The money Chelsea spent on Caicedo is very similar to what Liverpool have agreed to pay for Wirtz.
Much like Caicedo has found his feet at Chelsea, becoming one of their best players, Wirtz too will come good at Anfield.
While the German was heavily relied upon at Bayer Leverkusen for his goal contributions, it’s worth highlighting that his role at Liverpool is different.
Under Slot, his role is far more of a facilitator than in Germany. Wirtz is being tasked with breaking the lines and releasing the attackers than making the final pass.
Of course, the goals and assists will come for the 22-year-old, but they should not be the only metric he’s judged by.