When things are going badly in football, everybody has their own differing opinion as to why—and what to do to fix it. Often, too, there can be at least a bit of truth in all of them, as when things go badly it’s usually not the case of just one thing, one phase or player, having gone wrong.

For ex-Red Graeme Souness, though, the biggest issue this current Liverpool side are struggling with are an over-reliance on a pair of still high quality but clearly aging stars along with an inability so far to integrate their big signings from last summer, in particular Alexander Isak.

“They’re conceding goals that they don’t normally,” Souness told The Echo. “Virgil van Dijk is now 34 and he made two mistakes in the Community Shield final—he was at fault for both goals just by being six inches too late. There is no doubt about it, at 34 the decline has started.

“He is still a wonderful player, but he will be on that slope and the same with Mohamed Salah—that worries me. The biggest mystery to me [though] would be Isak. When you buy a player, you’re looking to take all the grey areas out of the deal but there are no grey areas with Isak.

“He’s performed in the Premier League and has shown that he can play at a big club. So you think that when he comes to Liverpool that he would just slot in immediately, but that’s not happened. Isak is a proper player, and he will get important goals, but right now it’s not working.”

Isak missed pre-season as he pushed for his eventual record £125M move to Liverpool, but we’re now nearly into December and he still hasn’t managed a single moment of impact for his new club. In Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest, he was easily marked out of the game.

There has been talk of a lack of service from midfield and the wings, but Isak has also appeared either unwilling or unable so far to provide options—to peel off a marker, make speculative channel runs, or drop between the lines to receive a pass—when Liverpool have the ball.

There’s also Florian Wirtz, the Bundesliga’s best player last season and another £100M+ signing who has looked anonymous. For Souness, a lot of that is likely down to the increased intensity of his new league. Put everything together, though, and you get an underperforming side.

“I have to say that the Bundesliga is several rungs down the ladder compared to the intensity that the boys have to perform to every single week in the Premier League,” Souness added of Wirtz. “There is no doubt he has the ability, but this must be a period of adjustment for him.

“Wirtz is 22 years old, so is he feeling the pressure of the price tag? When you play for Liverpool, every game is a final for the opposition. There are no doubts he has the technique [so] I wouldn’t be making my mind up too soon—let’s see where we’re at come the end of the season.”