Alexander Isak Shines as Florian Wirtz Struggles at Liverpoo

Isak rising, Wirtz waiting: Liverpool’s twin transfer tales

Alexander Isak did not just arrive at Anfield this season, he arrived with a point to prove and a price tag that seemed to whisper every time he touched the ball. Now, a few weeks into the campaign, those whispers sound a lot more like applause, while on the other side of Liverpool’s rebuild Florian Wirtz looked like he was still searching for the light switch.

Two headline signings, two wildly different starts, and one big question for Liverpool supporters: what exactly is this team becoming?

Isak, structure and the evolution of Liverpool’s attack

Isak’s impact has been more than a flurry of goals. He has started to reshape the geometry of Liverpool’s attack.

His influence rests on three key traits: his movement into channels, his comfort dropping between the lines, and his composure when chances arrive. Liverpool had flirted with similar profiles, but Isak represents a clearer commitment to a centre forward who plays like a forward and a number ten in the same frame.

PedTalks research indicated that Liverpool’s staff targeted him precisely for that blend. They wanted a striker who did not just finish moves, but stitched them together. That became obvious in the way Liverpool built from the back. Instead of a straight ball into feet with his back to goal, Liverpool often looked for Isak curving away into the left channel. That movement did three important things:

First, it dragged the opposition right centre back out of the line, opening an interior lane for a late running eight.

Second, it created natural overloads with the left winger and full back, turning that side into a three man carousel of short passes and one twos.

Third, it allowed the right winger to hold a higher and narrower position, trusting that Isak would connect play and then crash the box late.

Isak does not plant himself between centre backs like a classic target man. He often starts his runs from the blind side, angling across the line so that full backs suddenly find themselves wrestling with a six foot four finisher at the back post.

Liverpool’s xG from cut backs and low crosses has climbed, and Isak has already notched a handful of deceptively simple goals. They are the product of a forward constantly recalibrating his position two or three steps ahead of the defender.

This eases the burden on Liverpool’s wide forwards. In previous seasons they often had to create and finish in the same action. With Isak, they have a reliable final reference point: win the one v one, look up, slide or square, and trust the Swede to occupy the most dangerous pocket.

Defensively, he does not press with the hyper frenetic energy of some previous Liverpool forwards, but his intelligence without the ball matters. He curves his runs to screen passes into opposition pivots, invites the ball wide, and then triggers the press behind him, helping Liverpool control where the game is played.

Isak is starting to look like the signing Liverpool hoped he would be: not just a scorer, but a system piece.

Florian Wirtz and the problem of the in between player

All of which makes Florian Wirtz’s indifferent start feel even more stark.

This is one of Europe’s brightest creative talents, a player who thrived in Germany as a free roaming ten who drifted into half spaces, combined in tight zones, and arrived at the edge of the box to finish. At Liverpool, that luxury role barely exists.

The fundamental issue has been one of context rather than talent. Wirtz is not a traditional winger, yet he has often started from wide areas. He is not a classic eight either, yet when he features deeper he must manage pressing triggers, second ball duels, and long recovery runs in transition.

Liverpool’s system leans on two attacking eights who can both run and press, while the forwards need to stretch the pitch. Wirtz instead wants opponents to come to him, then slip away from pressure with quick combinations. The Premier League rhythm, especially in a Liverpool side that still plays in fast vertical bursts, has not been kind to him.

PedTalks team sources suggest Liverpool staff are still trying to figure out his best usage. As a left sided eight, he often receives the ball with his back to goal, facing his own centre backs. By the time he turns, the spaces he loves between the lines are closed. When he starts on the right, he drifts inside so much that Liverpool sometimes lose width and become predictable.

Confidence has dipped. His first touch remains velvet, but where he would once turn and carry through a gap, he sometimes recycles possession backwards, dulling the very chaos Liverpool signed him for.

There is also a chemistry issue. Isak’s tendency to slide into the left half space means Liverpool often tilt attacks that way. Wirtz, used primarily on the opposite side or centrally, can feel like the spare part in moves that never quite revolve around him.

The tactical puzzle Klopp’s successor must solve

The contrast between Isak and Wirtz is not about winners and losers, but about fit and timing.

Isak slotted into a clearly defined role. Liverpool had a template for a modern centre forward in this version of the team, and he happens to match it. Their pressing structure, build up patterns, and wide combinations all had a space reserved that his skill set now fills.

Wirtz walked into something less settled. Liverpool are still evolving their midfield after the great engine room rebuild, and the role of a high risk creator in that zone remains under construction. Do they create a ring fenced pocket of freedom for him as a ten, potentially loosening their off ball structure? Or do they demand that he bends to the system, turning himself into a harder running eight with added responsibilities?

There is a middle path. One solution is to treat Wirtz less like a pure midfielder and more like a second striker: start him nominally wide on the right, but instruct the full back to provide constant width so Wirtz can live between the opposition right centre back and holding midfielder. That would place him close to Isak, allowing tight one twos at the top of the box while keeping enough structure behind.

Another option is to rotate him more heavily in games that demand guile rather than chaos. Against deep blocks, where Liverpool’s main problem is unlocking the final third, Wirtz becomes invaluable. Against more transition heavy sides, a more robust runner might be preferred.

Both players shape the direction of Liverpool’s project. Isak represents the club’s ability to identify and integrate a centrepiece in attack. Wirtz represents the more delicate art of building a structure around a special talent.