Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola has “100 per cent” trust in Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola after the two £100m-plus signings came in for criticism.
Wirtz has had the benefit of a full season already with the club but has yet to deliver on his £116m price tag, and in Sunday's home loss to Manchester City he struggled to exert any influence on the game even when his side were in the ascendancy.
Barcola, who joined from PSG in a £123m deal, can be given more leeway after arriving late in this summer's transfer window, but he looked short of confidence and has yet to properly contribute in six appearances.
- What does Wirtz actually bring to Liverpool?
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The pair have come under increased scrutiny as injuries to Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai - the team's leading three goalscorers this season - have left a small squad looking to their remaining big-name signings to produce a spark.
Liverpool's injured trio are missing for the Champions League trip to Austria to face LASK, and with Iraola unsure of their availability for the following three matches against Brentford, Villarreal and Brighton, the spotlight will only become more intense.
"It's true Cody, Alex and Dom are top scorers this season as they are the ones playing more in those positions," said the Liverpool boss.
"We need our players to give us those numbers; we trust the players we have now to play in those positions.
"Bradley and Flo have had good and bad games this season like everyone else, but we know their level, and for sure we know they will give us good performances.
"At the end, the responsibilities are the same. Sometimes we are too focused on just the numbers.
"I was happy with a lot of things the other day. Bradley had good situations; we didn't finish them, but him and Flo also are players I trust 100 per cent."
Iraola: Wirtz has had good games this season
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Wirtz has been a big disappointment since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen as one of Europe's top young talents.
Despite lighting up the Bundesliga, he has struggled to find a role at Liverpool - not helped by the change of head coach in the summer - and remained on the fringes and unable to influence games the way he did in his homeland.
But Iraola pointed to his performances for Germany in the last international break as a positive.
"He probably didn't have his best game but has had good games this season with us. Everyone starts looking for answers," he added.
"He had some good performances in the national team; he scored one goal. He will have better and worse games, but I like to look at it more collectively, how they [Wirtz and Barcola] help us play well and get results.
"I don't care if one scores or the other scores, it is a more collective thing."
The match in Linz is Liverpool's second of six in 18 days and Iraola is set to make changes.
"Because of freshness reasons and some niggles it will be difficult to put the same starting XI out tomorrow," he added.
Carra: Wirtz has to be dropped
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Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher speaking about Wirtz after the 3-0 defeat to Man City:
"I'm just sorry to say this: the Florian Wirtz signing isn't working, and it hasn't worked so far, and [Ryan] Gravenberch should not be sitting on the bench when Wirtz is playing for Liverpool.
"Barcola hasn't made a good start so far for Liverpool, but if we started being critical of him, that would be harsh because he's been here six weeks and didn't have a pre-season.
"You want a bit more from what you've seen already, but you think, 'hang on slow down, give him a bit more time'. That would be harsh having a go with him right now - it's not harsh to be having a go at Wirtz right now; he's got to do so much more.
"I struggle to think of one game where he's won Liverpool the game, or he's been the man. He was brought in to be a star of the Premier League. I felt he could be the Kevin De Bruyne that at times got Manchester City over the line.
"Wirtz has been here for 55-60 games; it's a lot, and I don't see it changing. Wirtz, where he's almost nailed on that he plays every week in that No.10 position, it has to stop.
"He needs to come out of the team. I said that last time out, and I'm going to say it again."
What does Wirtz actually bring to Liverpool?
Sky Sports' Callum Bishop:
If the challenge ahead of Florian Wirtz was like climbing Everest, comparing him to the best the Premier League has or had to offer when their legacies are already cemented isn't going to make life easier.
The issue is, the majority of these names made bigger impacts from the jump. Thus far, Wirtz has played 39 Premier League games since his big-money move last summer. In that time, he has averaged 0.18 assists, 0.16 goals and created 2.2 chances per 90.
Without context, these numbers mean nothing. Compare them to other players and then the problem begins to magnify. In De Bruyne's first 39 Premier League games at Manchester City, he far outperformed Wirtz in all three of these areas. And it's not just the Belgian.
The same can be said of Cole Palmer at Chelsea and even Martin Odegaard at Arsenal, who was equally hit with claims of a slow start to life at the Emirates.
Those defending Wirtz may argue that isn't all his fault. Assists rely on those he is feeding to finish. True, and he is in the 90th percentile of chances created among all attacking midfielders in Europe's top five leagues since the start of last season. Despite that, his assist numbers don't even put him in the 50th percentile.