Arne Slot may have found a new way to unlock Florian Wirtz at Liverpool after what happened on Sunday

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Liverpool were one of the busiest teams in the summer transfer window, with the likes of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak making the move to Anfield.

The Reds have spent over £400million on improving their ranks this summer and, even though they’ve managed to earn all nine points from their first three Premier League games, there’s still more to come from the squad.

Players such as Hugo Ekitike have hit the ground running instantly and have more or less dictated the way that Liverpool’s games have panned out.

Whereas others, such as Wirtz, haven’t had as much luck and have ended up going invisible and failing to have much of an impact on Liverpool’s first-team squad.

And, although the international break has stopped Arne Slot from getting all of his players on the same page, it may have given him the key to unearth the best out of the young German upon his return.

Florian Wirtz must be allowed to play on the wing rather than in a central position

Julian Nagelsmann plays a 3-4-2-1 with the German national team, and although Wirtz started in attacking midfield, he was allowed to drift to the left-hand side more often than not.

Indeed, David Raum was deployed as a left-wing back, but to advance Germany’s attack and get the ball to Nick Woltemade, Wirtz was often seen on the left wing running up and down.

According to Sofascore, the midfielder played the full 90 minutes, and even though he was technically an attacking midfielder throughout the clash, he turned into more of a winger, which allowed him to run freely and dribble with the ball.

He also managed to bag himself a goal with a fine free-kick, with the German even maintaining a pass accuracy of 87 per cent.

In his newfound role, Wirtz made three key passes and won 50 per cent of the ground duels he attempted.

This was further backed up by the fact that, when looking at his heatmap, the most densely populated area of the pitch for Wirtz is on the left.

Arne Slot must give Florian Wirtz free rein to be deployed on the wing

Going into the 2025-26 season, Slot only has five senior attacking options among his ranks.

Indeed, Rio Ngumoha is another valid option, especially since his inclusion in Liverpool’s Champions League squad meant that Federico Chiesa missed out on the opportunity to represent the Reds in the tournament.

However, when Mohamed Salah goes to AFCON, they’ll be down to four, and if one of Isak, Ekitike or Cody Gakpo ends up injured, they’ll only have three.

And, even though Wirtz is seen as one of the best number 10s in the world, it’s clear that he thrives when on the wing.

At the moment, it’s anyone’s guess what could happen, but with the way things have panned out for him during international duty, a stint on the left wing could easily unlock his best form for Liverpool.