It's three months since Liverpool sealed a deal worth up to £116 million to make Florian Wirtz their new game-changer, but they may need to wait another year at least to start seeing a return on their investment.
Seven games into his Liverpool career, Wirtz is struggling to make his mark, and he certainly wouldn't have expected to experience his first Merseyside derby by watching it from the sidelines as a substitute.
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But thanks to a combination of Liverpool's significant summer overhaul, the breakneck speed of the Premier League and the vast array of attacking talent in Arne Slot's squad, Wirtz has looked as though he spent an hour inside a washing machine whenever he has walked off the pitch.