The three Liverpool players with the biggest point to prove on international duty
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Credit: Imago
Michael Mongie
Wed 3 September 2025 12:28, UK
Liverpool spent £446million on new signings this summer but despite topping the Premier League table after three games, there are still improvements to be made.
Arne Slot won the league on his first try last season and, after wins over Bournemouth, Newcastle United and Arsenal, the Reds already have a two-point lead at the summit.
Despite the excitement of the 1-0 win over Arsenal and Dominik Szoboszlai’s incredible free-kick, the thrilling signing of Alexander Isak on deadline day has since stolen the headlines with Slot unlikely to change his 4-3-3 system that won Liverpool the league.
His debut is eagerly anticipated but the international break has brought a halt to club football and offers a few Liverpool stars the chance to find the intensity, rhythm and game-time to aid the Reds’ ambitions of silverware.
Criticism of Florian Wirtz this season is unfounded even if the German is still not operating anywhere near his best.
It should frighten rivals to see the 22-year-old slowly finding his feet despite the immediate impact he has made.
Steve Nicol believes Wirtz should not play in midfield due to defensive concerns in transition but, after a clean sheet against Arsenal, these fears have been alleviated.
That said, Wirtz will hope to use World Cup qualifiers against Slovakia and Conor Bradley’s Northern Ireland to score his first goal of the season.
Last season, he scored 16 goals for Bayer Leverkusen before the £116million move to Anfield.
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His mesmerising ball control and in-game intelligence have already made an impression on supporters.
Against Arsenal, despite the numbers not reflecting it, Wirtz had his best performance yet and showed signs of what he could be for Liverpool in the long term.
Florian Wirtz on Instagram
The 2025/26 season has not been ideal for Liverpool metronome Alexis Mac Allister.
His pre-season was curtailed by the medical department’s need to ease him into training and matches to manage a muscle injury.
The 26-year-old has been called up to Argentina’s squad for World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Ecuador and could really use the extra game time and will benefit from the training camp, although he could do without the extremely long distance travelling.
So far this season, Mac Allister has played twice.
He has lost his automatic position in the Liverpool starting lineup but was recently named the club’s new vice-captain after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free agent move to Real Madrid.
He’s also captain of the Scotland national team and will be glad of the chance to play after watching new signing Milos Kerkez make a fine start to his Anfield career.
Slot will no doubt need to call on his new vice-captain, so Robertson will need to make the most of this international break to get up to speed should be required by Liverpool in the next month.