Jamie Carragher has heavily criticised Florian Wirtz - and cast doubt on the value of Liverpool’s €125 million promise.
"I don't think we're seeing a massive drop-off in performance," the Reds club icon told Sky Sport: "What we've probably been seeing for a year is what he is: a decent footballer."
Wirtz, who moved to Merseyside before last season, is "not a player who should be worth £110 million, but someone who is probably worth £50 million to £60 million, somewhere around that", Carragher said: "Decent, with a nice touch on the ball. I'm not sure what people are expecting."
The 48-year-old no longer sees a role for him in the team. "What are you supposed to do with Wirtz?" Carragher asked, adding: "This idea that players need a year to settle into the Premier League is a myth as far as I'm concerned."
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His display in the season opener drove Carragher's criticism, as new team manager Andoni Iraola's side at least snatched a 2-2 (0-1) draw at Newcastle United in stoppage time. Wirtz was already off by then, with the Germany international substituted in the 63rd minute for Liverpool.
"I thought this topic would only come up in six weeks," Carragher said, "but it's already coming up now. I don't see at all where he fits into the team." Wirtz started the first game of the season as the playmaker, but Carragher would rather see former Leipzig player Dominik Szoboszlai there. The Hungarian scored the penalty for the late equaliser.
"You can't carry on like this. It's not working. It didn't work last season. I just think it's slowly getting to the point where he no longer fits into the team," Carragher said.
Alongside him, Gary Neville has also emerged as a prominent Wirtz critic, calling for a clear improvement from the Germany international. "If you want to be that nice, you'd better be an unbelievably good footballer," he remarked on the podcast on Sky . "What Wirtz lacks for me is that edge," Neville said, explicitly singling out the German playmaker. "All I see is a nice player running around the pitch without giving the impression that he's really tearing himself apart. That can happen, some players just have that style. But sometimes I'd like to give him a kick up the backside."