Gary Neville's Warning to Liverpool's £200m Duo

Gary Neville has warned Liverpool’s £200m front pair Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak that the grace period is over – but insisted he still believes they will come good.

Isak completed the full 90 minutes on his first return to St James’ Park since becoming the Premier League’s most expensive player last summer. Wirtz, by contrast, was hooked just after the hour for Alexis Mac Allister. Neither did much to justify their price tags in a flat 2-1 defeat.

Both had teased a revival in pre-season. Under new head coach Andoni Iraola, they produced bright moments in friendlies, enough to convince Liverpool supporters that year two would look very different. Then the real stuff started on Tyneside, and the optimism evaporated.

On the Gary Neville Podcast, the former Manchester United defender did not hold back.

“The big thing for Liverpool is they've got this quarter-of-a-billion-pound front two, Isak and Wirtz and bloody hell, we've been kind to them,” he said. “They're going to have to start playing sooner or later or else, to be fair, they're going to get quite a lot of criticism.

“For a start, they're too nice, and if you're going to be nice, you'd better be incredible at football.”

Neville’s main frustration centred on Wirtz.

“I don't see the tenacity in Wirtz in particular,” he added. “I just see a nice player moving around the pitch, not really ever looking like he's busting a gut to do anything.

“Now, that can happen. Sometimes players have that flow about them, but I want to put a rocket up him. I want to put a rocket up him because there's ability there, there's talent there, the understanding of his position.

“The biggest disappointment for me [Sunday] is those two.”

Faith in Isak, impatience with Wirtz

For all the criticism, Neville has not written them off. Far from it. He has seen a different Isak before – and not so long ago.

“I've watched them both for 12 months, and I do actually have faith in them,” he said. “I think Isak's an exceptional player and we've seen it.

“I never saw anybody give Gabriel and Saliba or Van Dijk and Konate a tougher time as Isak did when he played at Newcastle in a black and white shirt. I've seen him be devastating.

“Now Liverpool fans and his team-mates and coaching staff, they need to see that - because that's £125m they've spent on him.”

Wirtz, though, got the harshest verdict.

“And then Wirtz, he needs to sort himself out. Enough's enough now, we've talked about him enough. He's young and he's come to a different country - and I'm all for willing him on.

“They have both had a bit of a free ride. Obviously Isak was injured last season but Arne Slot loses his job, and Wirtz has played like that, so let's be clear, this has got me to start some real focus now.

“I can see a real player there, but can't keep watching this stuff and he's been subbed after an hour and they need a goal, but they're 2-1 down, so no that's not right.”

‘He’s got to be a second striker’

Neville’s tactical gripe with Wirtz is simple: he’s drifting everywhere except where Liverpool need him most.

The 23-year-old had looked sharp as a shadow striker in pre-season, especially in a lively showing in the 3-2 defeat to Monaco a fortnight before the league opener. At St James’ Park, he operated further away from Isak and disappeared from the areas that matter.

Wirtz has only eight league goal involvements since his nine-figure move from Bayer Leverkusen. For a player signed to transform Liverpool’s attack, that return jars badly with the fee.

“Sometimes I think he moves around too much,” Neville said. “Sometimes I don't think he's close enough to his striker, I don't think he understands where the game's going to be won and lost.

“When I played football and No 10s sometimes drifted too deep, or too wide, they would get a right rollicking off our manager.

“The game's not going to be won out there, the game's not going to be won back there, the game's going to be won in the final third, in and around the box.

“Combining with your striker, getting crosses in, getting little passes, getting little side passes down the side of the centre-backs, being close enough to your forward so that you can combine with him. And I don't see him combining with Isak.

“I just feel like Wirtz has got to think about being involved in the build-up less and think about being a second striker. He's got to think about his output and what he needs to do, and that is feed Isak with little passes down the side of centre-backs. He might only get the ball two or three times in that position in tight games where teams are lying deep.”

Liverpool did not spend more than £200m on “nice” attackers. They paid for edge, end product and big-game menace. Neville’s message was clear: the excuses have run out. Now the numbers have to follow.