Florian Wirtz transfer theory emerges as Arne Slot told to take risky Liverpool action

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Liverpool summer recruit Florian Wirtz 's displays could be suffering due to his hefty transfer fee, according to ex-Reds frontman Emile Heskey. The attacking midfielder has found it difficult to settle since his switch to Anfield.

Liverpool signed Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen during the summer for an overall package worth £116 million. Across his nine Premier League and Champions League outings so far, he is yet to find the net or provide an assist .

The midfielder found himself among the substitutes for the Premier League encounter with Chelsea prior to the international break. He entered the fray as a second-half replacement as Arne Slot 's side succumbed to a 2-1 loss.

Wirtz's displays have come under scrutiny so far, though Heskey reckons he deserves more time to settle in. The former England international also highlighted the burden of his transfer fee.

"No matter how much a team spends on a player, they're still going to need a little period of bedding in and it might be longer for some than others," he told Pundit Arena . "When you look at Luis Suarez, he hit the ground running.

"But not every player's like that. Wirtz is needing that bedding in, especially with the price tag because that will be in his head as well."

Wirtz wasn't the sole major summer signing at Anfield during the transfer window, with striker Alexander Isak sealing a £125 million switch from Newcastle United on deadline day. Fellow forward Hugo Ekitike also joined Liverpool during the summer, presenting Slot with something of a selection dilemma.

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Heskey has suggested a potential solution, albeit one that carries risks. "If you're talking about out-and-out strikers, I'd rather have Isak starting than Ekitike because I've seen him do it before," he said.

"Don't get me wrong, I think Ekitike has done fantastic and he's got so much to give. I'd be interested to see if it could be done with two of them up front or one of them on the left drifting in with Kerkez coming and overlapping a little bit more."

Ekitike has been turning heads in the forward position for Liverpool since his £69 million transfer from Eintracht Frankfurt. In his 10 appearances across all competitions, he has netted five times and provided one assist.

Isak, on the other hand, has been working on his match fitness after his pre-season was disrupted by transfer speculation. The striker is yet to find the back of the net in his five Premier League and Champions League appearances, but did score his first goal for the club in the Carabao Cup victory over Southampton last month.

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