When Liverpool spent big in the summer, as champions, it increased expectation and pressure on some new players whom many pundits are now criticising.
Speaking on Stick to Football via The Overlap on YouTube, Paul Scholes, Ian Wright, Roy Keane and Jill Scott were asked by Gary Neville which Premier League players have underperformed so far this season and two of our lads were right in the thick of it.
Pressure builds on Liverpool’s record forwards
Gary Neville turned the conversation to Alexander Isak, asking: “Who’s the player who’s not lived up to expectations so far this season? Would you say Isak?”
Ian Wright agreed: “Probably yeah, with all the noise that was coming you’d probably say Isak, because when he comes [into the team], he has to do well [because] the guy who’s playing [Ekitike] is actually doing it.”
It’s a valid point. The Swede arrived from Newcastle for a British record fee of £125 million, but has been forced to watch Hugo Ekitike flourish up front whilst he watches on injured or whilst lacking match fitness.
Jamie Carragher even said recently that Slot faces a “difficult” decision on how to fit both into the same side, a headache most managers would love to have.
Roy Keane, though, struck a note of optimism: “I still think he’ll come good for him. I think he’ll come good.”
Wirtz hit with similar criticism on The Overlap
Scholes then added: “If you take money into consideration, you think about Wirtz as well, don’t you?” said the former midfielder, referring to our £116 million signing. “But I think Wirtz will come good as well.”
There was an opinion shared across the group that perhaps teammates are letting the German down by failing to convert the chances he’s providing, as much as he’s still getting to terms with a new league.
It was a fair comment. The 22-year-old has shown flashes of brilliance, including his clever ball for Dominik Szoboszlai that should have led to a goal against Real Madrid, but hasn’t yet hit the consistent levels he managed at Bayer Leverkusen.
Arne Slot has experimented with him in different positions, deploying him on the left wing against Madrid to try and get more out of him – a tactical decision that raised eyebrows after Cody Gakpo was dropped.
This belief from Scholes in Wirtz and Keane is Isak will be what many of our fans hold, it’s too early to judge the pair and they’ve certainly shown signs of why they can go on and succeed at Anfield.
That’s the sentiment we’ll all be clinging to. Because while others might see underperformance, we see adaptation and if there’s one thing we’ve learned from watching this team under Slot, it’s that patience usually pays off.
You can view the comments on Isak and Wirtz (from 1:09:25) via The Overlap on YouTube:
You can watch Slot’s post-match press conference via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:
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Wirtz is starting to gel and form a good understanding with ekitike. Isak’s progress has been hindered by injuries. My personal opinion is Wirtz is very hardworking and he goes all the way to press opponents. He might need to buff up a bit as the premier league is very much more physical. Remember when origi joined, he was a skinny lad. When he left for Milan, he was like a bouncer. Isak might need to adapt to Liverpool’s way of attack which requires quite a bit of pressing. In newcastle, he was often just the target man. His ability to score is no doubt 1 of the best in the world. Trust that slot can bring the best out of both of them.
Sounds as if you’re suggesting that Arne’s handling it smartly by integrating the newbies comprehensively one at a time.
A solid, cohesive base to build a machine?
Conor’s put some beef on, wouldn’t you say?