Florian Wirtz has regressed and is being ‘shoehorned’ into Liverpool XI as £116m signing struggles again
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Florian Wirtz has declined in quality since signing for Liverpool, who are shoehorning him into the team despite his poor performances.
That's the view of talkSPORT's Tony Cascarino, with the £116million Reds signing still waiting to score his first goal for the club.
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Wirtz has gone eight matches without scoring for LiverpoolCredit: Getty
Wirtz had a strong debut for Liverpool as he assisted Hugo Ekitike for their opening goal against Crystal Palace in the Community Shield.
However, he hasn't provided any goal contributions in his following seven appearances and is yet to complete a full 90 minutes.
The German is yet to replicate the form he showed during his spell at Bayer Leverkusen, where he hit 57 goals and 65 assists in 197 matches.
And former Premier League striker Cascarino has concerns over Wirtz being able to find his form in Liverpool colours.
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Speaking on Weekend Sports Breakfast following their 2-1 defeat to Palace on Saturday, he said: "I'm really bothered by Florian Wirtz.
"He played on the left yesterday, and they're trying to shoehorn him into the team.
"You can look at all the performances he's played so far for Liverpool, he's been subbed in every game, or he's come on as a sub as well.
He's actually gone backwards since the start of the season.
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"I thought in the Community Shield, he probably played his best game so far for Liverpool, which he had an impact in.
"It's early days and I'm not going after him, but I'm concerned by his performance because it's not been good."
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talkSPORT's Cascarino believes Writz has regressed since his £116.5m moveCredit: Getty
"Do you see Liverpool's best team featuring Florian Wirtz?" Co-host Shebahn Aherne asked, and Cascarino replied: "Well, not under current form.
"Because he's not played well enough to actually be in the starting lineup, I don't see that at all.
When he played his first games for Liverpool, he looked like he was already in place and looked like he was going to absolutely be a great fit for Liverpool.
"And he's trying intricate passes, and they're not coming off."
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Wirtz is the second most expensive signing in Premier League historyCredit: Getty
Reigning champions Liverpool had a 100 per cent record in the Premier League with five wins ahead of their weekend trip to Palace.
But the FA Cup winners became the only unbeaten team left in the division with some late heroics at Selhurst Park.
Eddie Nketiah netted in the seventh minute of second half stoppage time to send Palace second in the table behind their opponents.
Liverpool conceded an early goal from Ismaila Sarr and thought they rescued a point via Federico Chiesa with three minutes to play.
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However, a first defeat of the season means they now only have a three-point gap at the summit.
Arne Slot will hope to get a response from his side on Tuesday night in their Champions League clash at Galatasaray.
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