Liverpool ‘flop’ Florian Wirtz among Big Six sextet needing to step up after the international break
Liverpool ‘flop’ Florian Wirtz didn’t look like a £116m player before the international break, so he features among a struggling Big Six sextet needing to step up…
Phil Foden
Foden arguably produced the worst defence of a PFA Player of the Year award ever in 2024/25 (though there are three other credible contenders) and he’s yet to get going this season due to supposed fitness issues.
Following the performances of Noni Madueke and other fringe men against Serbia, Foden faces a long road back to the England starting XI in a World Cup year, though he has more pressing matters at club level.
Foden’s sensational 2023/24 campaign was his coming-out party, as it indicated he was ready to finally become Man City’s main man as he stepped up in the absence of injury-plagued Kevin De Bruyne. However, in a single year, he has gone from being a shoe-in to be the club legend’s long-term successor to fighting for his future at his boyhood club.
The days of Foden exit talk being laughed off are long gone as he risks being left behind and in need of a new adventure to kickstart his career, a la Jack Grealish, if he cannot reignite his Etihad career. He has the necessary ability to quickly silence his critics, but he needs to get a move on, as Pep Guardiola’s patience will be running thin.
READ: Liverpool propaganda army lauds £225m ‘Moneyball’ double signing
Gabriel Martinelli
Martinelli is another Big Six stalwart whose time is running out, as his contract situation and Arsenal’s summer business make his exit in 2026 increasingly likely.
Bukayo Saka’s world-class contributions have far outweighed Martinelli’s in recent seasons as the two wingers’ trajectories have gone in opposing directions. While the England international has developed into one of the most complete wingers around, his teammate’s stagnation is a real worry as he’s become a weak link in Mikel Arteta’s side.
Martinelli’s lack of growth pushed Arteta and Andrea Berta to focus Arsenal’s summer recruitment in wide areas, with big-money arrivals Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke finally providing quality competition.
If Arteta’s decision on selection was purely based on form, Martinelli would be Arsenal’s third-choice left winger as he was fortunate to start against Liverpool before the international break. He can either rise in the face of adversity to re-cement himself or be reduced to being a peripheral figure en route to a 2026 exit. It’s really up to him how this goes.
Benjamin Sesko
Under-fire head coach Ruben Amorim has protected Man Utd’s new No.9 since his £74m move to Old Trafford, though the few glimpses of him so far have not inspired optimism and it’s even been suggested that they ‘regret’ signing him over another striker. As Gary Neville said, he’s been “nowhere near”.
Sesko built match fitness during the international break and will benefit from his 180 minutes for Slovenia ahead of being thrown into the fire against Man City, with a start surely certain as Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount are injured.
His Manchester derby performance should say a lot about his character and whether he can thrive at Man Utd or follow Rasmus Hojlund in fading into insignificance, having failed to handle the immense pressure.
Sesko clearly has plenty of great attributes and there is a gem to be unearthed by Man Utd and Amorim in the coming months, but the young striker needs to do his bit too and show he has the bottle to live up to expectations.
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Dominic Solanke
Having been backed by many to flop following his move to Spurs, Solanke enjoyed a steady, if not unremarkable, debut season at the north London side.
The 27-year-old played a key role in Tottenham’s Europa League run and netted a respectable nine Premier League goals, but he has had a rough start to this season.
The unexpected return to form of Richarlison under new boss Thomas Frank limited his minutes before he picked up a slight injury, with his situation further complicated by the deadline day arrival of Randal Kolo Muani.
Given that Spurs fell into the Champions League by winning the Europa League, Solanke should have plenty of minutes as Frank’s side compete on all four fronts, but he’s gone from being their sole No.9 to being third in the pecking order in no time and could be cast out by a Big Six club for the second time in his career if his season continues in this current vain.
James Trafford
Trafford is perhaps the only one of the many stars to snub Newcastle United in the summer who regrets his decision as he faces losing the No.1 spot at Man City in record time.
Long touted as a future England No.1, Trafford is a model Pep Guardiola goalkeeper due to his brilliant ball-playing ability, but he was bullied by opponents when in the Premier League with Burnley, and his physical frailties have also been exposed at the start of this campaign.
A flurry of early-season mistakes from Trafford and a unique market opportunity to sign one of the world’s best goalkeepers on the cheap encouraged Man City to sign Gianluigi Donnarumma on deadline day.
Donnarumma is not your typical Guardiola goalkeeper, as he is renowned for his shot-stopping rather than his ball-playing. But, club chiefs, understandably, felt it was a no-brainer to snap him up when he became available, and his arrival means Trafford will be a No.2 for the remainder of his Man City career if he doesn’t grow into the role of No.1 at a big club.
READ: Big Weekend: Manchester derby, Alexander Isak, Ange Postecoglou, West Ham
Florian Wirtz
‘Wirtz will be a flop until he’s not’, explained eloquently by Ashmundo in Friday’s Mailbox.
‘Wirtz cost an absolute fortune, so he’s going to be scrutinised at every turn, sorry about that. You can’t compare him to two of the best players to have played the game until he has reached those heady heights himself. He’s just as likely to be a Pogba, a Schevchenko or even a Robinho. Until such point as otherwise proven he will be an expensive flop in the eyes of all other fans. This is the way.’
The debate surrounding Wirtz (and the Nottingham Forest circus) carried us through a tiresome international break, with the £116m summer signing harshly written off as being utterly useless already.
Yes, Wirtz produced nothing of note in Liverpool’s opening three Premier League games and his outspoken critics will continue to sharpen their pitchforks for as long as his struggles last. However, the former British record signing has been a victim of Arne Slot changing his style, so it’s not entirely his fault that he’s looked out of place as the champions get accustomed to a fresh approach.
Barring the odd exciting touch or pass, the Premier League is yet to see the best of this special talent, though goals and assists should come once he and a player in a typical No.10 role are bedded into this Liverpool side. By which point, his many naysayers would have done a Homer and retreated into the bushes.
