It's not bizarre to want to progress and evolve the team. But it is bizarre for a team built on high intensity pressing to try to build their team around someone who is physically weak and slow by PL standards. Particularly at a time when the PL is become more physical and direct than it has been for over a decade. It's no coincidence that their best players this season - Szoboszlai, Gravenberch and Ekitike - are still the ones who are the best athletes.
It's a bit like when we signed Veron. Objectively a good player, but not right for either our style nor for the league at the time.
Leaving Wirtz aside, for real the League thing it's (as usual) going over the top, specially regarding players already in the team.
The real thing close to Veron it's that he arrived to a very settled team yet in Sebastian's case with a very similar profile of those already there and a bunch of tactical issues due to the mix.
Another thing in common that never helps, it's the price tag, that always mess up things, the moment sthg. it's not perfect, its ugly head will arise.
Then Wirtz actually it's a profile Liverpool didn't had, they only had it with Chiesa, who can't (because of injuries and coaches decisions) gain and secure a place since time now. It's here with this change of profile, with a more cerebral "enganche", mediapunta, tre quartista, with dribbling where stuff it's quite diff from Veron's case.
Veron reminds me when Pekerman in the NT at times used Riquelme, Lucho Gonzalez, Cambiasso, etc etc and not adding sthg actually diff a la Aimar and at times they overlaped, while lacking ball carrying, more dribbling and dinamism as whole.
Also Veron was a trip with ups and lows, notas bad and dire looks the situation with Wirtz and finally like in the past with Verón, with a coach not entirely knowing how to use his new toy and explain it to the old guys.
About Szoboszlai, Gravenberch and Ekitike and the rest it's as black and white. First neither of the three
now it's at his best and the last one looked better due to price...not saying that he didn't showed more numbers to the very least, yet it was used to add fuel to the fire.
New Isak and oldies like Virgil, Salah, Konate and even midget Mac Allister are far from push overs physically, they are just playing below their best level, where is the chicken and where is the egg behind such level?, dunno, it differs on every case and at times it's all mixed up and not easy to solve.
In the case of Szoboszlai, Gravenberch they had some great moments, the first one still mostly saving face, but here comes sthg. important. One of the reasons (apart form the Cherry on the top and some seek of flair) why they tried to add another gun with Wirtz and till now it's backfiring, is: Brains. Even at his best these two aren't that cerebral, are more dinamic, powerful, relentless than this.
So when Virgil, Mac Allister and Salah are off, being all more cold, more patient, more cerebral, this aspect of a very rock and roll team Liverpool always has been since years, starts to collapsed. No wonder two of their best games as a whole, as a team, had at least Virgil and Mac Allister in their at least normal level.
Wirtz, I guess Chiesa as a bet before, are the fellas bought to bring that extra layer offensivly, certain even flair and pause and dare that they are not providing and even at times too much rock and roll Luisito it's severely missed. When Liverpool in the past also lost control, Luis many times kept them pushing, trying, reckless at times, yet with lots of talent and dare involve. Now they only have Dominc in such task and he isn't either a dribbler in the realm of Lucho. Trent as a disrupter coming at times, also is lacking. Frimpong looked like quite a solution and people it's not talking enough of that fullback issue. Here comes in such aspect, what huge bucks (Wirtz) will attract, Isak, Frimpong, Etitike have to take advantage of what these type of numbers can provide, giving them a tad less bad exposure till they find their best level.
So more than a bad idea, bizarre one, the timing of all of it seems to crumble, with issues everywhere and only time might heal it, with key players returning to their best level and finding roles for everyone., We'll see what happens, certainly lots of fun for rivals, since they certainly were looking like adding cherries on the top and everything now is falling apart.
PD: When a team finds itself as a Team, if they bring sthg diff from the general tendency, it usally works, so they do not have (didn't had to) to follow the trend (if such trend actually exists as a an extent it's talked about).
City as athe best example of recent years and multiple ones in the history of the game everywhere, it's just that this particular ecosystem must WORK within its own structure, you can't impose without actually playing as a proper team and with pieces all over the place being below par.
PD2: Sorry the long rant and going sideways, not just about Wirtz
