Florian Wirtz has had a hard time of it ever since he was brought to Liverpool.
There was so much excitement around the transfer of the attacking midfielder, with Manchester City and Bayern Munich both interested in acquiring his services.
In the end, he chose to ply his trade with Liverpool, and even though it’s still early days, his performances have left a lot to be desired.
Arne Slot watches on ahead of Liverpool's Premier League match against Arsenal at Anfield.
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
To be honest, there hasn’t been one game this season where he’s looked like the best player on the pitch, which, for a potential fee worth £116million, is far from ideal.
Dion Dublin slams Florian Wirtz after his “awful” free kick for Liverpool
As mentioned, Wirtz has been well below par, and thus far, he hasn’t shown any glimpses of the player he was for Bayer Leverkusen last season.
Many expected the 22-year-old to fit right into Arne Slot’s team and perhaps form a dynamic partnership with Mohamed Salah.
Instead, he’s been played out of games on multiple occasions and has been taken off towards the latter end of clashes.
And, while commentating on BBC Radio Five Live, Dion Dublin gave his thoughts on the German’s free-kick at the start of the first half.
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“Awful, awful, he’s about five yards from his manager’s dugout and he just wants to leave it into an area on the diagonal,” he said.
“Van Dijk went up, Konate went up, I wouldn’t be happy if I was a centre-half and that happened to me.”
Florian Wirtz of Liverpool controls the ball during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield.
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Gary Neville shares what Florian Wirtz must do to play better for Liverpool
Sunday’s Premier League game against Arsenal isn’t the first game that Wirtz has been slammed for his poor performance.
In fact, his top-flight debut against Bournemouth was even worse, with Stephen Warnock even saying that he was “struggling” to keep up.
Sunday’s game at Anfield has been no different, with Gary Neville also chipping in with his thoughts on Wirtz’s performance.
“Wirtz needs to get higher up the field as a start. He is the wrong side of the midfield players at the moment,” he said live on Sky Sports.
“He needs to get closer to Ekitike, take Rice and Zubimendi out of the game, and make the defenders think.”
Only time will tell whether Liverpool’s club-record signing will get to his best, but if he doesn’t, it could end up being a massive mistake on Slot’s behalf.