Liverpool slump to a fourth successive defeat at the hands of Manchester United on Sunday, with Arne Slott’s two-big-summer signing in doubt.
Liverpool’s signings of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, two of the most expensive signings of the summer, have been thrown into further question after Arne Slott’s side suffered a fourth successive defeat against Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.
Isak, 26, was the last and most expensive signing of an unprecedented summer spending spree from the Premier League champions, who twice broke English transfer records to acquire former Newcastle striker and Werts, who signed a deal worth £116 million from Bayer Leverkusen in June.
Unfortunately for Liverpool and Slott, Isak and Werts have failed to really get into action in the opening weeks of the season, and scrutiny has increased on both players following another Reds defeat.
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Wirtz failed to make a goal contribution in his first 10 games in a Liverpool shirt and was on the bench for the second consecutive Premier League game against United. Isak, on the other hand, did not take part in Newcastle’s pre-season and appeared to be off the pace. But Slott insists the Swedish star is up to speed and says now is the time to judge Isak, while Wayne Rooney doesn’t think the former Real Sociedad star should be his first choice at this point over Hugo Ekitike, who has performed well since moving to Anfield.
“I wouldn’t play with Isak. He hasn’t looked ready since he came from Newcastle,” the former England and Manchester United forward said on The Wayne Rooney Show. “He hasn’t trained, he hasn’t had pre-season. That’s very important. While Newcastle were training, he was probably spending six hours a day at home on the phone with his agent trying to figure out a move.”
“It’s very difficult not having pre-season. He may have done something on his own, but he’s paying the price.
“In terms of performance, he does not deserve to play ahead of Ekitike.”
Isaac’s latest exhibit has come under scrutiny, and Wirtz has also been singled out by experts. Manager Emmanuel Petit insisted ahead of Sunday’s big game against United that the German playmaker was not worth the £116m Liverpool repaid in the summer.
Isak at least has the advantage of being a proven player in the Premier League, but Werts is in a league of his own, and Jamie Carragher admits question marks over the former Leverkusen star are likely to remain, with some wondering whether it was a mistake to sign him if he doesn’t reach top form in the early months of 2026.
“When a foreign player first comes to the league, how long do you give him? I wouldn’t say the first year is off, but I would say the second year he develops and gets even better,” he said on Sky Sports.
“But to be honest, if you think about the great foreign players like Sami Hippia, Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, Luis Suarez, Didi Hamann, they are all giving their all.
“I can’t think of many players who were average and got off to a bad start. By the way, I’m not talking about seven games, but Christmas and January came and you were like, ‘Oh.’ History doesn’t tell us that it takes a year to get a foreign player to come to England.”
He added: “Seven or eight games is too early (to tell), but in January, February, March, when can you start saying, ‘This may have been a mistake’?”
“Especially at Liverpool, when we sign foreign players who are great for the club, they hit the ground running.”
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