Danny Murphy is still confident Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak will come good for Liverpool, despite their early misfortune at the club.
The former Liverpool player spoke on talkSPORT about the pair’s performances, beginning with Wirtz.
Murphy conceded that the German midfielder had got off to a disappointing start at Anfield and he suggested this was due to his lack of physicality.
He said: “I think it’s fair to say that I and many others have been a little bit disappointed with his [Wirtz’s] levels. He’s had glimpses. I’m not too worried about the numbers side of it because he’s made a lot of chances for people and he’s been in some good positions to score.
“But I think now you’re getting to the point where you need to see more, you’re thinking come on, now you’ve got to start standing up and be counted because the argument I’ve said from beginning and is fair and I think is true is that physically he’s looked a bit lost in certain Premier League games with the intensity of it, the power of it.”
Wirtz is still yet to register a goal contribution in the Premier League, but he has two Champions League assists.
Murphy has suggested that his superior performances in the European competition are a result of it being less physical than the English top flight.
“He’s actually had his best games in Europe where he’s looked really good, which kind of makes sense, different game, more technical, even the Madrid game to a point he played well,” Murphy continued.
“The Premier League’s relentless and ruthless and physical and he’s looked a bit off it.”
Despite Wirtz’s struggles to get up to speed, Murphy is confident his footballing abilities will provide him with the benchmark for success.
The 22-year-old might still be adapting to the Premier League, but he has the talent to succeed once he sorts out his biggest problem.
Murphy added: “I think he’ll come through it because he’s just so bright, his football is so intelligent, he’s so classy. I do think his biggest problem is the physical and I don’t mean he’s going to become a speed merchant and dynamic overnight, that’s not what he is.
“But when you’re not physically brilliant and that’s not your attribute, you have to be really on top of your fitness and he looks like he’s a bit leggy.
“He still does the distance, he still gets about, but the sharpness isn’t there. When I looked at all his [Bayer] Leverkusen stuff, he looks much sharper going past people and with the ball. I’ve got no worries about him, but I don’t think it’s going to happen overnight.”
Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann took aim at Wirtz’s Liverpool teammates a few days ago, placing the blame of Wirtz’s uninspiring form at the feet of those who fail to finish the chances he creates.
This is a theory Murphy refuses to accept, because there are past examples such as Luis Suarez, of players who help transform a side struggling to get results.
“I think you can look better in a bad team than he is, if you’ve got that much quality and you’ve got a bit about you, you can still look a really good player,” Murphy said.
“When you think of [Luis] Suarez walking through the door at Anfield when they were struggling and he walked in and just looked a million dollars. No, I think you can still have a good impact, so I don’t really agree with that.
“I think it helps if you’re walking into a team that’s winning and playing well and good front-foot football because you just step in and everyone around you is on it. Of course that makes it easier.
“But I still think you can shine on a dark night, in a poor team you can shine, and he’s not shining enough.”
The conversation then shifted to Alexander Isak, who has had issues of his own since trading Newcastle United for the Champions of England.
Although the centre forward does not have the excuse of needing time to find his feet in a new league, he did not play during pre-season and has since had some fitness issues.
Murphy continued: “Isaks’s the most understandable one because you can’t not train and not have a pre-season anywhere and do it on your own.
“His quality, we’ve seen in the Prem. We know he’s capable, that’s not a concern. The style doesn’t matter, he’s one of these really intelligent forward players who can link with anyone.
“He’ll be absolutely fine, he’s just got to get himself fit and then he’s had a little niggle recently and he’s missed a few more games, that’s not going to be a problem.”
Despite Murphy’s confidence in both players changing their fortunes at Liverpool, he believes it is too late for his former club to compete for the league title.
However, the Champions League is still on offer and Liverpool’s new signings would love to get their hands on the famous European Cup, with the Reds’ last triumph coming in 2019.
