Florian Wirtz in action during a Liverpool matchplaceholder image
Florian Wirtz in action during a Liverpool match | Getty Images
Arne Slot looks to have settled on his strongest team for Liverpool, these are the winners and losers after a record summer spend.
It’s taken 17 games, a lot of tinkering, Arne Slot to swallow his pride and some injuries, but have Liverpool finally found their strongest starting XI?
The summer overhaul was bigger than many expected and nobody saw the £400m record transfer spend coming. To an extent, nobody saw the near £200m worth of sales being made either as several title winners left Anfield with a Premier League winner’s medal in their back pocket.
The winners and losers as Arne Slot finds strongest Liverpool XI
When Hugo Ekitike signed for Liverpool, the odds of Alexander Isak also being paraded in red dropped dramatically which turned to disbelief across England when a statement of intent was made.
Slot must have thought that all his Christmas’ had come at once only for the dream summer to quickly turn into a nightmare. Who to pick, where to pick them and what formation to use became a headache, especially when the assumed backup hit the ground running with the sort of form that was expected of the British transfer record signing.
From the outside, it looked like Slot thought it would be easy to add some of Europe’s most promising youngsters to his starting XI to take it to the next level only to see the likes of Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong struggle physically and with the demands of playing for Liverpool, but it was the slow start to life at Anfield for Florian Wirtz that saw the headlines written and questions about the German playmaker’s ability to adapt being raised.
Who are the winners and losers?
Andy Robertson and Milos Kerkez
Slot has turned back the clock to take Liverpool forward with two wins and two clean sheets against good opponents in a week a sign that things are on the right tracks. One of the biggest beneficiaries is Andy Robertson, who has gone from being allowed to leave Anfield in the summer to now looking like a player determined to prove the doubters wrong and cement his place back in the starting XI.
Had Milos Kerkez started the season well, Robertson would never have been given another chance or run of games but it is the summer signing who now has to be patient. He’s blown his chance to make a good first impression which only makes his job to turn opinion around even harder.
Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak
Hugo Ekitike wasn’t supposed to be this good, was he? It isn’t even up for debate now whether it should be Ekitike or Alexander Isak who leads the line and the worst thing Slot could do is try and squeeze them both in together. Keep it simple, pick the best striker on form, which is the France international.
Isak arriving unfit has opened the door for Ekitike and he has grasped the opportunity with both hands. Despite the transfer fee and his form over the last two seasons, Isak needs to earn his place in the team.
Florian Wirtz and Cody Gakpo
Every manager wants a big squad with loads of depth, but not every manager is willing to make big decisions when they are needed. Cody Gakpo has been one of only a few players who can actually say that they have been contributing this season and yet being dropped for Florian Wirtz was the right decision.
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