Florian Wirtz joined Liverpool for £100 million in the summer transfer window and awaits a first Premier League goal.

Chris Sutton reckons that Florian Wirtz could be about to light the touchpaper to his Liverpool career.

The attacking midfielder joined the Reds from Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of £100 million in the summer transfer window. Wirtz was regarded as one of the best talents in the Bundesliga, having recorded 57 goals and 65 assists in 197 appearances for Leverkusen.

But Wirtz has had somewhat of a soft launch as a Liverpool player. The Germany international is still to score his first Premier League goal, although he did assist Alexander Isak’s goal in last weekend’s 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Isak, purchased for a British record fee of £125 million, suffered a broken leg when scoring at Spurs as he was clattered by Micky van de Ven. With Mo Salah away at the African Cup of Nations representing Egypt, head coach Arne Slot is short of forward options heading into the Premier League clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield.

But Sutton believes that Wirtz could come to the fore and thrive with added responsibility that may fall on his shoulders. The former Celtic and Blackburn Rovers striker said on the Monday Night Club: “I really feel for [Isak]. I didn't agree with what he did in the summer; he's had a really difficult start and has struggled.

“The beauty for Arne Slot is that he still has Ekitike but if anything happens to [Hugo] Ekitike, he will be in a bit of bother. But they still have Chiesa, who doesn't get a regular game and there's talk about playing Salah centrally when he comes back from AFCON. They've got [Cody] Gakpo and I just wonder whether this will be the start now for Florian Wirtz, who has had a really disappointing start.

“But because of the injuries Liverpool have and their squad being decimated, he will really get a run of games where he can become a run of games to build that consistency and that ability we all know he has will shine through. Of course, Isak is a central striker but they're going to miss him. I don't think they can go and spend a fortune on another striker (in January) because they can't have three competing.”

Despite the criticism that has been thrown Wirtz’s way - a lot of it outside those of Liverpool persuasion - his father, Hans, insisted they were ‘perfectly happy’ with the former Cologne man’s start at Anfield.

Speaking last month, Wirtz Snr said: "My thought from the very beginning was to wait and see how the first ten league games went. We and Florian are perfectly happy with that. The incredible speed, the back and forth, that was very impressive for the first few games. The distances covered and the speed were significantly greater. The style of play is sometimes enormously different because it doesn't seem as organised, but rather more focused on pace.

"I think the league table clearly shows that there's still room for improvement in this football machine. But the mechanics will sort that out. I hope he's such a good player that he can adapt to the demands there and that he enjoys it just as much as he did in the Bundesliga.”