Arne Slot is avoiding BLOCKBUSTER change but he must be brave

Arne Slot is avoiding a blockbuster change that he simply needs to make at Liverpool. Their awful form makes it the right time.

That's now four Premier League defeats in a row for Liverpool. Five in their last six across all competitions.

We can comfortably say that this wasn't the plan when Liverpool spent over £450m on new players over the summer. Virtually no one predicted it, either, as all the signings made sense.

After all, Arne Slot delivered the Premier League title last season with what was Jurgen Klopp's squad. The only addition was Federico Chiesa, who barely featured because of match-fitness and preference.

The big spend, then, gave Slot a team built for his style of play. Only, it appears that it's a lot less good at this style of play than the previous group.

Part of that is certainly that the group he inherited had played a full season together and knew each other fully. That's hardly going to be the case when you spend a fortune and create a new group.

But the extent that things have fallen apart if dramatic and it's time to change. Liverpool, if anything, appear to be getting worse and their defeat to Brentford was the worst display of the season.

It's time for Liverpool to make the big change they should make, then. The plans of last season and the ideas that won the title will not work - but there's something that will.

The Florian Wirtz experiment

Liverpool spent a lot of money on Wirtz, making him their first-ever nine-figure signing. They underpaid, if anything.

The German is one of the most talented footballers in the world and someone who should be a proper Ballon d'Or contender. And yet, he has zero goals and no Premier League assists.

A large part of that is because of the player Wirtz is. He's someone who provides spark into a team but if that team lacks cohesion and a working plan, he can't do that. Not to the full extent of his abilities.

Now, most elite forwards are like that. Put them in a side that doesn't work well and you won't get their best. That's certainly the case with Wirtz, given he finished each of the last two seasons with double-digits for both goals and assists. The only other player in the top five European leagues to do that was Mo Salah - someone else struggling to get going in this team.

But perhaps that also highlights a problem. Salah is used to being the main man in attack and the one everything revolves around.

That's no longer the case with other big-name forward signings and a change in plan at full-back. Things operate differently but the major problem is that no one is the main man.

There isn't a single player who Liverpool turn to and there isn't a player who the attack is built around. The result is an attack that doesn't really suit anyone.

That must change and the change should be to revolve things around Wirtz. Put him in his favoured position and work backwards from there - but the 22-year-old should be the guarantee.

That means making difficult decisions on who plays where and who misses out but it has to happen. Give Wirtz what he needs to succeed and everyone else will benefit.

The stats demonstrate that. Wirtz is averaging around 4.7 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season. That is the fifth-best figure in league, behind Bruno Fernandes, Bukayo Saka, Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish.

One thing that stands out from the group is that three of them are the undisputed main creative outlet for their teams. Manchester United's attack is built around Fernandes, Arsenal's around Saka and Everton's around Grealish.

The other thing that stands out is that Wirtz's figure of 4.7 is the least since he turned 18. There's more to come from him, especially if he gets the focus that other players have.

Liverpool aren't yet giving that to him but it has to happen. Both for the long-term and short-term benefit of the club. The signs are there that he'll deliver an elite level and now's the time to give him what he needs to do just that.

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