Florian Wirtz is continuing to receive criticism for his start to life at Liverpool, as he looks to show that he has been worth the huge investment from the Reds

Liverpool star Florian Wirtz has been the subject of a fiery debate over transfer value, as the playmaker continues to come under fire for his performances with the Merseyside outfit.

It follows a difficult start to life with Liverpool, with the first season seeing him struggle to settle in and become a central figure in a team that was disjointed at best. A new season has brought about fresh hopes that the Germany international can step up.

With a change in head coach and some time to adjust, those hopes continued to build into the early weeks of the season. However, so far, Wirtz has shown little sign of being able to perform at a level that will see a good return on that initial investment from last summer.

There have been glimpses, with his latest performance against LASK showing some encouraging signs, but it's clear that there will be bigger challenges ahead that he will need to step up to.

With patience running out among fans and pundits alike, the 23-year-old has been at the center of discussions and debates with Liverpool for the past few weeks.

The latest to chip in with a debate on the star have been former players Jason Cundy and Charlie Austin, as the duo clashed over the subject.

Cundy, who used to play for Chelsea and Tottenham, said on Talksport: "He's [Wirtz] on course to become the biggest waste of money ever in Premier League history. Don't argue with that, mate."

Ex-striker Austin responded: "Do you really believe that...? And the reason? Because he hasn't what?" Cundy replied: "Turned up. I mean, where is he? Chaz, come on mate, I know you're a Liverpool fan, but help me out here."

Austin then responded with a defense of Wirtz, stating: "I totally understand exactly what you're saying, right, I totally understand what you're saying. My issue with it is the inflation of where the money is. So that's not his problem that the figure was as high as what it was.

"The performances are there, but they're not..." was said before Cundy interrupted and claimed the performances haven't been there. Austin then said: "At times they are... You can't become a bad player overnight."

The back-and-forth continued, with Cundy claiming that Wirtz isn't cut out for the Premier League, while Austin said time is running out but that he has until the end of the season to prove himself.

However, it's a discussion that gets to the heart of the debate surrounding Wirtz and his time at Liverpool. On the one hand, there is a party that has already decided the attacking midfielder is a waste of money and has written him off, while another group clearly wants him to succeed.

Somewhere in the middle is likely where the player stands. Where performance levels and output have not met expectations, but with a price tag that only exaggerates those expectations to the maximum.

As for the biggest waste of money in the Premier League argument, there will certainly be other candidates who have managed far less in the division. However, that in itself isn't a defense of Wirtz, who needs support to thrive and the internal drive to push on and prove why he was highly coveted.