FLORIAN WIRTZ was hoping to belatedly make an impact in the Premier League as Liverpool travelled to Chelsea on Saturday.
Instead, it was another big-money signing who took his time to adapt that had a key say on the contest.
Moisés Caicedo scored a stunning opening goal in a dramatic 2-1 win for Chelsea.
It was the Ecuadorian’s third of the season.
He has played every minute of their seven Premier League games so far.
Last campaign, he overcame competition from the likes of Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernández to win the Chelsea Player of the Season award, having started all 38 of their games.
Given this excellent form, it is easy to forget that Caicedo endured a difficult start to life at Chelsea.
The pressure was high. In the summer of 2023, Caicedo had rejected the chance to join Liverpool in favour of the Blues, who bought him for £100 million (€115 million), or £115 million (€132 million) including add-ons.
It was a British transfer record fee at the time. Perhaps, therefore, it is no surprise that Caicedo struggled initially.
His early performances were so disappointing that, midway through his first season with the Londoners, then-Reds boss Jurgen Klopp had a dig at the player, along with Romeo Lavia, who Liverpool also missed out on signing.
The Reds ultimately bought Wataru Endo instead, and Klopp said: “The summer we had, we had a few strange things happen in the transfer market, but here, between us, I can say ‘My god, were we lucky, eh?’”
“We didn’t know that in that moment, and it didn’t feel like it in that moment, but yeah, I’m really happy that it worked out, but you never know before.”
The German added: “We obviously realised that other central defensive midfielders don’t want to join Liverpool, you see what happens, and then we found Endo. He’s an exceptional player … He wanted to come definitely and that helps.”
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Klopp’s comments and Caicedo’s resurgence show how easy it can be to write off a big-money signing prematurely, and perhaps these remarks were partly what prompted the midfielder to put his finger lips with a ‘shush’ celebration after scoring.
Liverpool probably wouldn’t say no to a player of the 23-year-old’s quality now, after he came back to haunt them on Saturday evening.
Meanwhile, Wirtz, who at a reported fee of €136 million, cost even more than Caicedo, has had a difficult start to life at Anfield.
And unlike Caicedo, who played 45 Premier League games with Brighton before joining the Reds, he had no previous experience of English football.
One of the main reasons why Liverpool signed Wirtz was the impressive goals and assists record he accrued while playing for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.
Yet so far for Liverpool, having played seven times in the Premier League and twice in the Champions League, the Germany international has not managed a single goal or assist.
He is not the only new signing to experience an underwhelming start.
The club also spent €46 million on Milos Kerkez, €90 million on Hugo Ekitike and €143 million on Alexander Isak. Both Kerkez and Isak were substituted on Saturday evening, while Ekitike made a 74th-minute appearance off the bench.
Wirtz also had to settle for a place among the substitutes, and the fact that he was held in reserve for one of their biggest and most challenging games of the season so far felt like an admission that the transfer had not gone entirely to plan.
The German star did almost make an immediate impact after being introduced at half-time, setting up Mo Salah with a clever turn and pass.
But his influence and Liverpool’s control of proceedings lessened, and Chelsea became increasingly dominant in the later stages of the second half.
And the game summed up Wirtz’s start in England — there were flashes of the player the Reds hope he will become, but not enough to suggest he is at the required level just yet.
Afterwards, Arne Slot refused to get too downhearted over the fact that over €459 million worth of new signings were taking their time to gel.
“You are never close to your ideal. You have to work very hard to reach a certain level, and then it’s hard to maintain that level because you play against other quality teams,” he said.
“We had our changes in the summer. Players came in at different moments. In the last weeks, there has hardly been any training time. We need to bring these players into our style.
“If we had a draw today, we would have had a great start to the season if you take into account everything that happened in the summer with Liverpool.”
It took Liverpool until 51 minutes to muster a shot on target against a Chelsea side missing out on a host of injured and suspended defenders.
The Blues, beaten in their previous two league games, have also been struggling to find their form, but Liverpool were unable to take advantage.
“Another disappointing loss, that is clear. We created three big chances in the first half, they only had one and they scored it,” said Slot, whose team host Manchester United in their next match after the international break.
“The second half performance I liked. We created more than enough to score more than one goal. There were periods where I thought we were going to win it.
“We didn’t play the last pass well enough in those chances. It was end-to-end in the last few minutes. Either team could have won it, and Chelsea did.”
Wirtz is ninth on the list of most expensive transfers ever.
The list in full is a curious read.
Many of the top 10 have been failures, such as João Félix (Benfica to Atletico Madrid), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid to Barcelona), Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool to Barcelona) and Jack Grealish (Aston Villa to Man City).
Ahead of third-place Isak are two PSG signings, Neymar (€222 million) and Kylian Mbappé (€180 million). Both scored plenty of goals in Ligue 1, but it was only after the duo were sold that Luis Enrique’s side really flourished and secured a coveted Champions League crown.
All of these points are not to suggest the signing of Wirtz is doomed, but they are a reminder that footballers are human beings regardless of their price tags, and the sport is not always so simple as signing the most expensive players to attain success.
Caicedo’s renaissance, however, indicates that Wirtz, too, can overcome the burden of expectation to thrive at the highest level.
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The conundrum of Liverpool's €136 million man
FLORIAN WIRTZ was hoping to belatedly make an impact in the Premier League as Liverpool travelled to Chelsea on Saturday.
Instead, it was another big-money signing who took his time to adapt that had a key say on the contest.
Moisés Caicedo scored a stunning opening goal in a dramatic 2-1 win for Chelsea.
It was the Ecuadorian’s third of the season.
He has played every minute of their seven Premier League games so far.
Last campaign, he overcame competition from the likes of Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernández to win the Chelsea Player of the Season award, having started all 38 of their games.
Given this excellent form, it is easy to forget that Caicedo endured a difficult start to life at Chelsea.
The pressure was high. In the summer of 2023, Caicedo had rejected the chance to join Liverpool in favour of the Blues, who bought him for £100 million (€115 million), or £115 million (€132 million) including add-ons.
It was a British transfer record fee at the time. Perhaps, therefore, it is no surprise that Caicedo struggled initially.
His early performances were so disappointing that, midway through his first season with the Londoners, then-Reds boss Jurgen Klopp had a dig at the player, along with Romeo Lavia, who Liverpool also missed out on signing.
The Reds ultimately bought Wataru Endo instead, and Klopp said: “The summer we had, we had a few strange things happen in the transfer market, but here, between us, I can say ‘My god, were we lucky, eh?’”
“We didn’t know that in that moment, and it didn’t feel like it in that moment, but yeah, I’m really happy that it worked out, but you never know before.”
The German added: “We obviously realised that other central defensive midfielders don’t want to join Liverpool, you see what happens, and then we found Endo. He’s an exceptional player … He wanted to come definitely and that helps.”
Klopp’s comments and Caicedo’s resurgence show how easy it can be to write off a big-money signing prematurely, and perhaps these remarks were partly what prompted the midfielder to put his finger lips with a ‘shush’ celebration after scoring.
Liverpool probably wouldn’t say no to a player of the 23-year-old’s quality now, after he came back to haunt them on Saturday evening.
Meanwhile, Wirtz, who at a reported fee of €136 million, cost even more than Caicedo, has had a difficult start to life at Anfield.
And unlike Caicedo, who played 45 Premier League games with Brighton before joining the Reds, he had no previous experience of English football.
One of the main reasons why Liverpool signed Wirtz was the impressive goals and assists record he accrued while playing for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.
Yet so far for Liverpool, having played seven times in the Premier League and twice in the Champions League, the Germany international has not managed a single goal or assist.
He is not the only new signing to experience an underwhelming start.
The club also spent €46 million on Milos Kerkez, €90 million on Hugo Ekitike and €143 million on Alexander Isak. Both Kerkez and Isak were substituted on Saturday evening, while Ekitike made a 74th-minute appearance off the bench.
Wirtz also had to settle for a place among the substitutes, and the fact that he was held in reserve for one of their biggest and most challenging games of the season so far felt like an admission that the transfer had not gone entirely to plan.
The German star did almost make an immediate impact after being introduced at half-time, setting up Mo Salah with a clever turn and pass.
But his influence and Liverpool’s control of proceedings lessened, and Chelsea became increasingly dominant in the later stages of the second half.
And the game summed up Wirtz’s start in England — there were flashes of the player the Reds hope he will become, but not enough to suggest he is at the required level just yet.
Afterwards, Arne Slot refused to get too downhearted over the fact that over €459 million worth of new signings were taking their time to gel.
“You are never close to your ideal. You have to work very hard to reach a certain level, and then it’s hard to maintain that level because you play against other quality teams,” he said.
“We had our changes in the summer. Players came in at different moments. In the last weeks, there has hardly been any training time. We need to bring these players into our style.
“If we had a draw today, we would have had a great start to the season if you take into account everything that happened in the summer with Liverpool.”
It took Liverpool until 51 minutes to muster a shot on target against a Chelsea side missing out on a host of injured and suspended defenders.
The Blues, beaten in their previous two league games, have also been struggling to find their form, but Liverpool were unable to take advantage.
“Another disappointing loss, that is clear. We created three big chances in the first half, they only had one and they scored it,” said Slot, whose team host Manchester United in their next match after the international break.
“The second half performance I liked. We created more than enough to score more than one goal. There were periods where I thought we were going to win it.
“We didn’t play the last pass well enough in those chances. It was end-to-end in the last few minutes. Either team could have won it, and Chelsea did.”
Wirtz is ninth on the list of most expensive transfers ever.
The list in full is a curious read.
Many of the top 10 have been failures, such as João Félix (Benfica to Atletico Madrid), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid to Barcelona), Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool to Barcelona) and Jack Grealish (Aston Villa to Man City).
Ahead of third-place Isak are two PSG signings, Neymar (€222 million) and Kylian Mbappé (€180 million). Both scored plenty of goals in Ligue 1, but it was only after the duo were sold that Luis Enrique’s side really flourished and secured a coveted Champions League crown.
All of these points are not to suggest the signing of Wirtz is doomed, but they are a reminder that footballers are human beings regardless of their price tags, and the sport is not always so simple as signing the most expensive players to attain success.
Caicedo’s renaissance, however, indicates that Wirtz, too, can overcome the burden of expectation to thrive at the highest level.
Additional reporting by AFP
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