Liverpool’s 2025/26 season has been difficult, though a few players have started to impress in the last few months.
Hugo Ekitike matched Kenny Dalglish in the record books when he scored his latest goal against Barnsley on Monday.
Florian Wirtz and Ekitike’s partnership has begun to bloom, especially in the absence of Alexander Isak and Mohamed Salah.
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Xabi Alonso pictured during Real Madrid's La Liga match against Real Betis at the Bernabeu (Credit: Getty Images/Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto
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Wirtz’s Liverpool career got off to a tough start, with much criticism aimed at the German following his £116m move.
However, the former Bayer Leverkusen man has been more consistent of late and is now starting to provide goal contributions as well.
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While we had to wait some time for Wirtz to finally score and assist as a Liverpool player, he has been doing a lot of things well for much of the season.
Unfortunately, many of his efforts were undone by teammates failing to find the back of the net.
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But one statistic shows that Wirtz is actually one of the most creative players in the Premier League right now.
According to WhoScored, the 22-year-old has created more open-play chances (30) than Bukayo Saka (29), Martin Odegaard (23) and Rayan Cherki (20) in the Premier League this season.
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Florian Wirtz of Liverpool celebrates after scoring a goal to make it 2-0 during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
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Rayan Cherki was nearly a Liverpool player
While Wirtz is currently ahead of the likes of Cherki and Saka, the Reds did come pretty close to landing the Man City man.
Back in the 2025 summer transfer window, the Merseyside outfit were showing interest in the then-Lyon player.
One report even said that Slot left a holiday to meet with the forward to talk about a potential move to Anfield.
In the end, Cherki was keen on joining Manchester City and eventually picked the Sky Blues over Liverpool.
Fans will be hoping a similar situation does not unfold with Marc Guehi this year, who is wanted by both clubs.
Thankfully, one journalist has said that Guehi prefers Liverpool to Man City.
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