Arne Slott’s £116m man finds it difficult to cope with the physicality of the Premier League, while departed Luis Dias has been praised for his performances at Bayern Munich
The weekend’s goal was scored by a player who played a key role in Liverpool’s most recent title-winning campaign. Unfortunately for Arne Slot, the player was sold for just over £65 million and is no longer at his disposal.
Luis Dias scored 13 goals in the Premier League for Liverpool last season and provided seven assists in the Premier League. Behind these good numbers was a passion for work, an insatiable desire for hard work, and an inclination to try something different.
These were qualities that were not in abundance in Liverpool’s game against Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday. A day earlier in Berlin, Diaz chased down a pass that appeared to be overhit, slid to keep the ball in play, and scored from a seemingly impossible angle.
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It was really bold, but typical of Bayern Munich’s form since moving to the Bundesliga champions. Dias had 11 goals and five assists for Bayern, including two goals against Paris Saint-Germain before being sent off last week. Not bad considering Harry Kane dominates the scoring for Bavaria.
Munich fans are particularly impressed by his selflessness. Of course, no one talked about how much they missed Dias, or anyone else for that matter, after Liverpool won their opening five Premier League games, but even with that good performance, there were signs that it would take time for the re-formed front line to take effect.
And that is proving to be the case with five defeats in their last six Premier League games. That’s why the spotlight will soon be on Anfield’s high-profile back office.
As for players allowed to leave, Trent Alexander-Arnold was powerless in the situation and the almost £50m transfer fee for Darwin Nunez from Al Hilal was more than acceptable. The £35 million transfer fee for Jarrell Quansah, who was not included in Bayer Leverkusen’s starting eleven at the weekend, was also good business.
However, Nunez’s fee combined with Diaz’s fee is about the same as what he paid Florian Wirtz. In contrast to Dias’ numbers at Bayern, Wirtz has yet to score or assist in the Premier League.
At Leverkusen, Wirtz looked like a generational talent, but although Bayern Munich were upset that he chose Liverpool, Liverpool’s sporting director Richard Hughes, along with Fenway Sports Group chief executive Michael Edwards, must have believed Wirtz could adapt to the physical rigors of the Premier League. Wirtz may still adjust, but the brutal truth is that he shows little sign of adapting anytime soon.
It’s no coincidence that he performed so well against a Real Madrid team that decisively lacked the intensity that City displayed. Wirtz played hard against Josep Guardiola’s side, but too often his muscles got the better of him.
And now Slott needs to come up with some kind of plan, some kind of system during the international break that will make it look like the money spent on signing Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak was well spent.
That’s because Liverpool’s big-money summer transfer business just doesn’t seem wise now that Dias has parted ways with Bayern.
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