Has Florian Wirtz been unlucky? £116m Liverpool star has ‘no excuse’ for second season flop as former Reds midfielder delivers ‘question marks’ warning

Wirtz has posted just seven goals and 11 assists across 54 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions. Those tallies were more than doubled when starring for Bayer Leverkusen in Bundesliga title-winning sides.

Said exploits were expected to be replicated in the Premier League, but consistency has proved elusive on Merseyside. That is not for a lack of trying, with the creative midfielder doing his best to rekindle a lost spark.

Fortune has not always been on his side, with opportunities carved open for others not being taken - with team-mates fluffing their own lines. Wirtz has also seen efforts chalked off for offside.

His numbers could have been better, but there is no ignoring the fact that he is yet to deliver the kind of return demanded of him after being snapped up for £116 million ($156m). Pressure is not going away and there is only so long that Liverpool can wait for an expensive asset to come good.

Asked if Wirtz has been slightly unfortunate, and what needs to happen in order to avoid being written off, ex-Liverpool star Murphy - who was speaking courtesy of Snabbare - told GOAL: “It does feel that way. The counter-argument to that, of course, is that if you do it enough, it will happen. And you could argue that those moments aren't regular enough.

“But he has had some bad luck. I do feel sometimes for him when I'm watching him and I think, a goal disallowed because he's an inch offside or he puts a beautiful pass to someone who doesn't finish it and all of a sudden he's not getting the plaudits.

“But I did listen to [Andoni] Iraola talking about that and he doesn't seem to be obsessed with the numbers. It's what he can do for the team. The reality is reversed now. He's in his second season. There is no excuse. He's got to perform.

“I always think that when you play in a front four, or whatever you want to call it, in a team where you're expected to create and score goals, the numbers are relevant at the end of the season. They really are. And he has to progress. He has to have a higher level of performance than he is at the moment.

“He had his poorest game in the Liverpool shirt for this season against Fulham. I thought he was sloppy. And you know what? Irrelevant of his talent, and we know he's talented and technically brilliant, there comes a time with any player, and it even happened with [Mohamed] Salah - I know there's differences near the end - the team has to come first.

“I don't think he'll be dropping him in the next few weeks. But if he stays at this level where he's not really impacting games enough, there's a lot of other players there who might be or should be given an opportunity.

“Just because he was bought for so much money doesn't mean that he has to automatically play all the time. I think that's the conversation I'm hearing a bit at the moment with fans.

“Do I think he'll get better? Yes. Do I think he'll have a better season? Yeah, I do actually. I think he will, because he's got so much quality around him. But the level he's at right now needs to go up. If he continues where he's at now, there are going to be question marks in the next month or two.”

It feels unlikely that Liverpool would look to offload Wirtz in the middle of a season, when the winter transfer window opens for business, but they may determine that is the best way to raise funds which can be reinvested elsewhere.

Decisions on long-term plans may be delayed until next summer, with no major tournament distractions to come, and a man with the ability to unlock tight defensive locks will hope to have proven by then that he is worth keeping around and can deliver on undoubted potential.