Arne Slot’s Reds have won three Premier League games and scored eight goals without impressing
Yet anyone who’s watched any of Liverpool’s opening three wins knows the reality is very different. After a penalty shootout defeat in the Community Shield, Arne Slot’s side have scored eight goals from a rounded expected goals tally of three and that victorious streak comes courtesy of 83rd, 94th and 100th-minute winning strikes.
After that lavish summer overhaul, Liverpool appear to have simply evolved into a more tapered version of their 2024/25 team - they’re still the top-flight’s top scorers but have had the third-most possession and are barely above Tottenham Hotspur in seventh, while their new signings mostly flounder. Milos Kerkez has been a liability so far, Jeremie Frimpong has only played an hour of Premier League football and Wirtz is yet to notch a goal contribution despite Liverpool’s free-scoring start to the season - four more matches and he’ll be the dreading 007.
Liverpool need to replace that passing mastery and they may have already seen the answer in that Community Shield defeat - Adam Wharton.
Adam Wharton the key to unlock all-conquering Liverpool
Wharton’s stats are impressive - compared to Premier League players in his position last season (per Opta via FBRef.com) he was in the top 10% for progressive passes, progressive passing distance, long passes completed, goals created from dead-ball passes, the list goes on.
And in a more backs-to-the-wall debut campaign in the top flight Wharton ranked similarly highly for tackles in the middle and final thirds, combined tackles and interceptions, and total tackles won. But it’s only by watching him on the pitch that you really see why he’s the solution to Liverpool’s problems.
He took three of Slot’s players out of the game in helping set up Crystal Palace’s opener at Wembley, looking ice-cool under pressure as the defensive net closed on him in all directions and his contribution to the Eagles’ second equaliser was even better. Receiving the ball with his back to goal, it only took a second for Wharton to turn, spot the run of Ismaila Sarr in behind and produce a perfectly weighted pass that travelled within a metre of two opposition players.
He almost had a carbon-copy assist for Jean-Philippe Mateta against Chelsea and was involved in Sarr’s goal against Nottingham Forest too, fizzing a pass to Daniel Munoz that cleaved the Tricky Trees’ usually water-tight defence open and allowed the Colombian to set up a tap-in. It’s exactly that kind of impact that could elevate Liverpool and allow them to unlock the full potential of their talented and extremely expensive attack.
How star-studded Liverpool could accommodate prodigious Wharton
If Kerkez can find his feet at Anfield, he’s more than capable of providing the width outside Wirtz if the German if shuffled left closer to his most common position at Bayer Leverkusen which will open up the opportunity to accommodate Wharton in central midfield. Kerkez’s two carries into the final third per game (for Bournemouth, no less) put him in the top 15% of Premier League full backs last season while the left-footer was also in the top fifth of players in his position for crosses at almost four every match.
According to FotMob, two-thirds of Wirtz’s shots for Bayer Leverkusen came from wider than the left goalpost as he started as the left-sided number 10 in Xabi Alonso’s 3-4-3, so moving out to the left flank in a 4-3-3 would allow him the freedom to make the left half-channel his own once against with Kerkez in support hugging the touchline.
Wirtz isn’t the strongest player yet and while he should be given time to adapt to the physical demands of the Premier League, pushing him away from both opposition centre-backs and towards a full-back would help him be more effective as he develops. In turn, Liverpool could retain their double-pivot of Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch while deploying Wharton on the right of the midfield trio allowing him to strike up a similar partnership with Salah as Alexander-Arnold enjoyed.
Reports of Wharton’s price tag have fluctuated wildly from less than £30m all the way up to nine figures, but £80m has been the most consistent mooted figure and would most closely align with the rest of the market. And if that’s all it takes for Liverpool to place the final piece in a puzzle that could conquer Europe as well as England, it will be money well spent.
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