A Changing Of The Guard
By now, anyone who’s been following Liverpool for any appreciable length of time is used to the villain narrative. If we’re losing, it’s because we’re delusional cultists stuck in the lost days of past glory. If we win, we didn’t deserve it; we got lucky, the league was weak, Covid trophies don’t count, etc. In this season, the hedging has already begun. If we win, it’s because we bought our way to the top. If we lose, it’s because we overspent on flop players. The villain narrative is so tired at this point that it’s basically just white noise.
I’m somewhat more bothered that the pessimism is coming from inside the house. I’ll fully admit that I’m more sanguine about the players than is often merited. However, the level of naysaying about the new squad strikes me as a little excessive. Being off the back of a one-two punch of narrow losses seems to be the perfect time to slow down and really analyze how the new guys are doing.
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FLORIAN WIRTZ
Florian Wirtz has probably been generating the most cross-talk. The overall narrative is polarized broadly into two humps. On one end are those who see his potential and are urging patience. On the other end are those who feel that he should be benched until he shows signs of improvement. This seems to me a silly dichotomy for two reasons. First, there’s no readily available replacement for Wirtz.
Mac Allister is struggling to bounce back from the injury he picked up in Argentina. His inconsistent fitness shows anytime he’s subbed in. Gravenberch and Szobozlai are needed more in the role of defensive midfielder. The latter has played right back more than once due to a lack of squad depth in the back line. Endo can’t really effectively play the number 10 role. And Curtis Jones, good as he is, doesn’t quite have what it takes to start at that position yet.
Florian Wirtz Statistics 25/26
Wirtz’s record fee is a testament to how badly Arne Slot has been fiending for someone who can play the part that he wants Wirtz to play. That same record fee is the reason why Wirtz is burdened with such high expectations. Nevertheless, it’s not necessarily the case that a player with a large price tag needs to be ready to effortlessly win trophies out of the blocks.
In a less fraught season, Wirtz might have had a bedding-in period as an understudy to Mac Allister. That’s clearly not where the squad is at right now. But that leads me to the second point. If you’re actually watching the games and not just reading off a stat sheet, Wirtz hasn’t actually been bad. He displays all the qualities that attracted Liverpool’s attention in the first place. He’s creating chances and taking up excellent positions. He’s connecting passes effectively and showing brilliant game awareness. Florian has shown himself to be every bit as sharp as the hype suggests. A player of his caliber will only get better with time.
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One criticism I do think is salient is that Wirtz’s presence has thrown off team balance. Once again, though, that’s a criticism that applies to the entire team. The fact that Wirtz’s chances don’t get converted and his positioning often doesn’t account for much is a whole-team problem. Of the attacking players, the only one that Wirtz seemingly works well with is Hugo Ekitike. This means he has significantly less influence on the attack than he should. Wirtz hasn’t had the impact that he should have, but the blame for that needs to be spread. It’s not about urging patience for when Wirtz will come good; it’s about when the team will finally mesh. It’s a more complicated expectation, but that’s the game for you.
HUGO EKITIKE
Hugo Ekitike has likely been the best-received of the new signings so far. It’s easy to see why. He’s the first striker we’ve had in quite some time that can be relied upon to consistently score goals. Arguably, some of the praise is a little overblown, particularly when they unfairly denigrate some of the other wearers of red. But Ekitike has shown himself to be a wise investment from top to bottom. The striker demonstrates skill in both attack and defense. The most stick he’s gotten so far is for the suspension he landed in the EFL Cup tie against Southampton, but even that was excessive.
The first yellow card stemmed from understandable frustration at a stupid call that broke his stride. The second was equally silly; I personally would never have given a second yellow card simply for celebration. Though I certainly agree with Arne Slot that celebrating so exuberantly was in bad taste, considering how instrumental the Chiesa assist was to the goal. If anything, the suspension demonstrated how truly instrumental Ekitike is to the Liverpool attack this season. We sorely missed Ekitike in the match against Crystal Palace as the other attackers struggled to break through Palace’s low block. I expect Ekitike to continue to impress this season, provided he can stave off injury and not rack up too many more cards.
FEDERICO CHIESA
It’s only fair to include Chiesa in this evaluation, as this is the first real season he has had with Liverpool. The thing that annoys me the most about the press coverage of Chiesa is how eager the media seems to be to manufacture conflict. Every decision Slot makes concerning the forward is interpreted as a snub or a deliberate insult. The sensationalism around Chiesa does a disservice to the man. He’s demonstrated himself to be nothing but modest, professional, and patient. Funny enough, the default position at the beginning of the season seemed to be Chiesa skepticism, arguably an overcorrection against the inexplicable cult following Chiesa generated at the end of the season.
Federico Chiesa Song
Now we seem to have overcorrected too far in the other direction. Now Chiesa is a talisman who must be played if we’re to have any hope of defending the league title. Make no mistake, Chiesa has earned his cult hero status. I’d argue that he’d even earned it when he was singled out in the title celebrations. A combination of his enormous contributions to Liverpool’s attack and his genuine commitment to proving himself an integral part of the team has endeared him rightfully to the Liverpool faithful. As the song goes, Federico is here to win. It’s thrilling to watch Chiesa blossom when given his appropriate time.
But he still has a lot of ground to make up. As I said before, this is effectively his debut season. The case to be made that he deserves a start over players who have proven themselves one season after another will always be a difficult one, no matter how good he is in any particular game. It’s not a matter of being snubbed or Slot preferring Dutch players. It’s just the difficult task of managing a stable of talented players across several difficult competitions. Chiesa will have plenty of opportunities to contribute to Liverpool’s success this season, especially now that he’s being brought to Europe.
JEREMIE FRIMPONG
Jeremie Frimpong was probably the player I was the most excited about signing in this transfer window. He was one of my favorite players to ever come out of Celtic FC. My immediate thought when it became clear that we needed a Trent replacement was Frimpong. He has a well-deserved reputation as a demon on the right side, a worthy addition to the Red Machine. He’s had a bit of a rough start, though.
Getting injured in his first outing and being sidelined for a month is unfortunate. As he slowly returns to service, he’s struggling to find his rhythm. Part of the issue is that Slot’s tactical adjustments have constantly kept Frimpong on his toes. Another problem is that he, like Trent previously, struggles to maintain defensive discipline. A critical defensive error by Frimpong cost us a point at Selhurst Park. Admittedly, he cannot solely bear the blame. The Palace defeat was a combination of wasteful offense and truly terrible officiating.
For Frimpong’s lack of defensive solidity to be forgiven, he needs to have a greater impact in attack. We saw some sign of that ability in the Community Shield, but little beyond that. Even his foray as a winger in Istanbul was a bit disappointing. But Frimpong probably also deserves the most grace of all our new signings. As I’ve stated elsewhere, fullback is the most difficult position to play in Slot’s pressing system. Frimpong has big shoes to fill. A stumble out of the gate could’ve been expected, even before you consider what a lousy hand he got dealt early on. It remains to be seen if this stumble is a sign of a greater adjustment to come, but at the very least, we should reserve judgment until we have seen more of Jeremie.
MILOS KERKEZ
In some respects, the caveat of how difficult it is to be a wide defender under Slot also applies to Milos Kerkez. On the other hand, he likely has the least excuse of any of our signings to be underperforming. Kerkez already has two Premier League seasons under his belt. There’s no question of his need to adjust to the physical demands of the League. He has played for an AZ side that still had Arne Slot’s fingerprints on it and played a vital role at a Bournemouth side with a similar system of play. So there should be no question of his need to adjust to the tactical demands of Slot’s Liverpool. He also has the benefit of an important mentorship by Andy Robertson, a senior player and one of the best to ever play the position.
Kerkez was expected to be the player with the least trouble adjusting when he came over. This seems not to have panned out. Kerkez has yet to show the level of intensity he showed last season at Bournemouth, a concerning sign. Notably, he was completely ineffective against his former club, being dominated by Antoine Semenyo every time they faced off. His uneven temperament has been something of a liability as well. The Hungarian has been substituted twice for fear of being shown a red card. I’m not really sure what to make of Kerkez at this point. He certainly impressed me last season. He was a regular on my Fantasy Premier League lineups. But I’ve seen little of that same man since he’s been in red.
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One thing that should be said in Kerkez’s defense is that he’s still young. Given what a bruiser he is, it’s easy to forget that he’s not quite 22 yet. He is, provided he can adequately adjust, a long-term investment. But just like with Frimpong, he’s under a serious amount of pressure to be ready to perform at a high level. The lack of squad depth at that position ratchets that pressure up to eleven. And, despite the similarities, playing at Bournemouth is not precisely like playing at Liverpool.
Slot demands greater positional discipline and a more controlled style of play than Iraola did, which a man like Kerkez will inevitably find difficult to adjust to. The demands on him at left back are far greater than they ever have been in his career. Andy Robertson’s leadership is likely going to be key in getting the most out of Kerkez going forward. One thing that can definitely be said to his benefit is that he has an excellent attitude about a tough situation. Calm and eager to learn, I have high hopes that Kerkez will settle in. But it might take an entire season to get there.
ALEXANDER ISAK
Finally is Alexander Isak, the legend himself. It’s almost tragic that the man’s season is overshadowed by the asinine controversy that came with his transfer saga. But, at the very least, he’s here. There seem to be a lot of people out there salivating for Isak to fail, both to make a mockery of Liverpool’s record fee and to punish him for his perceived petulance. The questions about Isak as a player seem to always revolve around someone else. How will you play both him and Ekitike at the same time? How will he fit with Mohamed Salah? Who should play on his left side?
The man himself is handicapped by a lack of a proper preseason and months without squad training, meaning it’ll be some time before he gets up to speed. The man comes burdened with expectations. Journos seem to have a compulsion to mention Isak’s fee when talking about him. But his price tag alone is not the reason why much is expected of him. Isak was the second-place goal scorer in a season where Mohamed Salah was dominating.
Premier League 2024-25 Top Goal Scorers
He is considered one of the absolute best strikers in the world, mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Dembele and Haaland. Last season, he was one of the decisive factors in ending Newcastle’s infamous trophy drought. It’s not just about him earning his fee; it’s about replicating world-beating success. We haven’t seen him produce this level of play yet, but time will tell if his fitness is what is failing him. But properly evaluating a player of his caliber will require a focus on Alexander Isak, not Mo Salah or Hugo Ekitike.
I do not envy the task of trying to work out the best squad of this Liverpool side. Arne Slot has been heavily experimental this season, making a variety of tactical adjustments that have raised eyebrows. But taking tactical risks is the only way you can make this team work. Going “back to basics” is no formula for success. Playing it safe is how you finish second every season. Ask Mikel Arteta for more details.