There is a version of the Florian Wirtz story that ends brilliantly. The German maestro, given a full pre-season under his belt, settles into life on Merseyside and starts pulling strings in a Liverpool side that looks like itself again. Goals, assists, moments of magic. Job done.

But we are not there yet. Not even close, if last season is anything to go by.

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy has been refreshingly direct about where Wirtz needs to get to, and his verdict is simple. Double figures for both goals and assists. That, Murphy argues, is not the ceiling — it is the floor.

"That should be the bare minimum," Murphy told Goal.com, via BetWright. It is the kind of honest assessment that supporters have been quietly thinking but perhaps not saying out loud, given how much goodwill the club tends to extend to new signings in their first year.

The numbers from Wirtz's debut season tell their own story. Seven goals and eight assists across the campaign. Not a disaster, but not what anyone had in mind when Liverpool spent £116 million to bring him in from Bayer Leverkusen. He did not score his first Liverpool goal until 27th December, a 2-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers. For a player of his reputation, that wait felt like a long one.

Murphy is keen to provide some context, and fair enough. "Of course, he walked into a team that was in transition," he said. "We got some new players and players had gone. When they started struggling, it was harder for him to impact the games. Adjusting to a new league and lifestyle is difficult, even for really good technical players."

That is a reasonable point. Liverpool were not at their best last season, and dragging a new signing along with you when the collective is misfiring is never straightforward. Wirtz did show moments of quality in the middle portion of the campaign — flashes of the player who had been so devastating in the Bundesliga — but they came too sporadically to shift the broader narrative around him.

"He did have a decent spell in the middle of the season to be fair to him and showed glimpses of what he's about," Murphy acknowledged, "but it wasn't enough. The step up has to come now. Not just because of the size of the fee, because Liverpool need their best players to be on their best game."

That last point is the one that cuts deepest. This is not simply a conversation about return on investment, as if football were a spreadsheet exercise. Liverpool need Wirtz to be brilliant because Liverpool need to be brilliant. The two things are inseparable.

The summer offered Wirtz no real respite either. He represented Germany at the World Cup, where they went out in the last-32, beaten by Paraguay on penalties. He chipped in with two assists at the tournament but the early exit drew criticism, with Wirtz among those in the firing line as one of the national team's most prominent attacking players.

Murphy, though, is optimistic heading into the new season, and he backs his case with some straightforward logic. "I think physically he's going to be better," he said. "I'd be amazed if he wasn't physically better when he comes back, which is obviously helpful. He'll be more settled with his environment, where he lives, surroundings, team-mates, all those things."

There is genuine substance to that argument. The first year in English football is a genuine test for any player, regardless of talent or reputation. The pace of the Premier League, the physicality, the shift in lifestyle — none of it should be underestimated. But having navigated that initial year, Wirtz has no more excuses to lean on. He knows the league now. He knows his team-mates. He knows what is expected.

"I do feel there's more to come," Murphy added. "But unfortunately, the price tag itself doesn't guarantee success. So I think he'll be better. I hope he'll be better. I think he will."

It is worth noting that Wirtz will be playing under a new manager this season, with Andoni Iraola taking charge following the departure of Arne Slot. How Iraola chooses to use him, and whether the system suits Wirtz's particular strengths, will be one of the most fascinating questions of the new campaign.

What is not in question is the expectation. Liverpool did not spend £116 million on a player who chips in with seven goals and eight assists and calls it a season. Murphy has drawn a line in the sand — 10 and 10 — and it feels about right. Generous, even.

Wirtz has the talent. He has the experience now. The only question is whether this season is the one where it all clicks together.