Danny Murphy has told Arne Slot who he should drop from the Liverpool midfield for their clash against Manchester United on Sunday.

Florian Wirtz was left out of the starting lineup for their defeat at Chelsea last time out, which saw Arsenal leapfrog them at the top of the Premier League table, but ex-Liverpool star Danny Murphy wants the German to return to team in place of Alexis Mac Allister.

Wirtz hasn’t provided a goal contribution following his ￡100m summer move from Bayer Leverkusen since his assist in the Community Shield, but Murphy insists he needs to be reinstated to the XI as “the magic will come”.

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Mac Allister was at fault for Moises Caicedo’s stunning opener for the Blues at Stamford Bridgeand has looked off the pace this season, and Murphy reckons Slot should select a team with the “athleticism” that the Argentina international isn’t currently providing.

“I would say at the moment, I would go with Szobozslai and Gravenberch in the middle,” Murphy told Mirror.

“Two super athletic players who can cover lots of ground. And I’d put Wirtz ahead of them.

“Szobozslai can go towards the right and help the full-back defend when Mohamed Salah stays high because obviously he’s been given the license to not defend. That was pretty evident in the Chelsea game although I do feel he could have defended a bit more. I think the athleticism of those two is what Liverpool needs.

“It’s not that I’m not a fan of Mac Allister, I think he’s a wonderful player. Curtis Jones is terrific as well. But Mac Allister missing pre-season has affected him. He’s taking his time.

“You can see physically he’s not at the same level as he was last season and it’s inevitable when you’ve missed pre-season. It’s really tough to get that back.

“That would be my three at the moment. I’d let Wirtz play through it because I think the magic will come.

“I would have Szobozslai and Gravenberch behind him because they’re the two most athletic midfielders that we’ve got.”

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Former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott has been far from convinced by Wirtz and believes Liverpool would take a refund if offered it at the end of the season.

“I’m not convinced,” said Lescott. “If Liverpool could get their money back at the end of the season, they would do it.

“Listen, we can’t judge him solely on the games that he’s played in, but he should have had an impact on one of those games. And for me, it was the Burnley game.

“I’m like, if you’re an attacking player, forget the fee and we need a goal, I shouldn’t be taking you off. You should be the guy that then hopefully creates the opportunity.

“I think I should have seen something that would make me go, ‘Right, good, I’m gonna see that again.’ Just like a moment in a game. I would have liked to have seen that by now and know that it was coming. There haven’t been enough of them moments yet.”