“Hasn’t done it” – Steve Nicol calls for Slot to bench Liverpool player who’s “disappointed” him | OneFootball

Steve Nicol has claimed that Arne Slot ought to consider dropping one player in particular from his starting XI at Liverpool.

The Reds maintained their 100% start to the Premier League season with a 1-0 win over Burnley on Sunday, but it took a 95th-minute Mo Salah penalty to break the deadlock in a largely forgettable contest.

Florian Wirtz became the Merseysiders’ record signing in June when he joined from Bayer Leverkusen for an initial £100m (Alexander Isak has since eclipsed that fee), although the German has yet to register a goal contribution in the English top flight.

Nicol calls for Slot to consider benching Wirtz

Nicol has been underwhelmed by he’s seen from the 22-year-old so far and has called for Slot to consider redeploying him on the left flank or even dropping him altogether.

The ex-Liverpool defender said on ESPN FC: “If we were going to talk about one player who is disappointed the most, I think we’d have to say, if ever a player was brought in to break down a game, this was it today… that, I’m afraid, is Florian Wirtz’s job.

“That’s what he was brought in to do. Today, again, he couldn’t do it, and he hasn’t done it yet since he’s come to the club now.

(Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

“The fact that Liverpool win again probably means that Arne Slot can keep pushing Florian Wirtz in the starting XI and keep giving him time, hoping that his true form is going to come out. There has to be a point where you do bench them. You could try and play him on the left.

“There has to come a point where Arne Slot has to decide whether Florian has to sit (on the bench)… If that’s the best thing for the team, then again that’s why Slot gets paid the big bucks.

“You have to make tough decisions regardless of whether you paid £112m for somebody or not, if they’re not producing. Then you have to make a decision, and that can’t be that far away, quite honestly.”

It’s way too soon to drop the axe on Wirtz – he’ll come good

It’s not inconceivable that Nicol’s words could be heeded – Slot showed his ruthless streak yesterday when substituting Milos Kerkez, who was already on a yellow card and running the risk of receiving another, after just 38 minutes.

With Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong both now fit, it’s plausible that either of them could be selected at right-back and Dominik Szoboszlai could revert to the advanced midfield role in which Wirtz has been playing.

No player at Liverpool should consider themselves truly undroppable, but we wouldn’t agree with axing the 22-year-old from the starting XI just yet.

To spend £100m+ on a player and consign him to the bench after only five games would seem excessively radical, and it’d be lunacy to write off Wirtz so early into his Anfield career. Remember, he’s still integrating into Slot’s tactical setup and forming relationships on the pitch with his teammates.

Would we like to see more from the German than what we’ve witnessed so far? Absolutely, but we’re fully convinced that it’ll come, and the best way for that to happen is if the head coach keeps faith in him and affords him the opportunity to repay his significant transfer fee.