Owen: No one can match Salah's numbers; I don't believe Wirtz isn't good enough

Michael Owen has stated that Liverpool's expensive signings will always be compared to Mohamed Salah's statistics, and that transfers exceeding £100 million come with immense pressure, Goal reported.

Wirtz struggled again in Liverpool's match against Manchester City, while his direct opponent, Manchester City midfielder Cherki, shone brightly. Barcola has yet to score or assist for Liverpool.

Liverpool signed German midfielder Wirtz for £116 million in the summer of 2025, when the team was still the reigning Premier League champion. That transfer window, Liverpool also spent heavily to sign Isak, Ekitiké, and Frimpong.

Liverpool had a generally poor performance last season, with Isak, who joined for a British transfer record fee, scoring only 4 goals. Wirtz's performance was no better; he struggled to effectively organize attacks from the attacking midfield position and has yet to recapture the brilliance he showed at Leverkusen.

In the high-profile clash against Manchester City, Wirtz failed to impress, while his opponent Cherki stole the show, scoring a clever goal for Manchester City and helping the visiting team convincingly defeat ten-man Liverpool on Merseyside.

French international Cherki cost Manchester City only £34 million, but his performance in Northwest England has been far superior to Wirtz's. Serious questions have been raised about whether Liverpool spent its money on the right players.

Barcola, who joined from Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain for £123 million, is also in danger of following the same path. The 24-year-old has yet to score or assist in five appearances across all competitions.

When asked about the struggles of Liverpool's expensive signings, former Liverpool striker Owen told Goal, as an ambassador for Casino.org: "It's certainly a problem in terms of the money Liverpool have spent on a number of different players."

"Obviously, in that transfer window, they spent a lot of money on Isak, Ekitiké, Wirtz, and at the moment, it doesn't look like money well spent. The saying goes, 'a rising tide lifts all boats,' but things often either work out completely or fail completely."

"I don't think they are necessarily bad players. In fact, I think they are all phenomenal players. When they were signed, I was full of hope, anticipation, and excitement. But obviously, as things have progressed, the team hasn't played well."

"And then you look at those big-money players and think, 'Wait a minute, the team played well last year, and they've invested so much money, what went wrong?' Your eyes are always drawn to the big-name signings. I understand that's just how it is."

"I know Barcola has only played five games, but even with that signing, you think the problem is that you need Salah-level statistics to justify such a transfer fee."

"If you're the club, you think, 'Okay, for this much money, we need those kinds of numbers to justify it.' But obviously, no one can match Salah's numbers. So that's certainly a problem."

"I refuse to believe he (Wirtz) isn't good enough. We've seen his performances in different leagues and for the national team. But there's no doubt that his performance at Liverpool has been below expectations, and it's been going on for over a season."

"That's a problem. Liverpool needs to find a way to get the best out of him because his ability is unquestionable. But whether they can unleash it is a huge question mark, because it's been over a year."

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