Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher has been highlighting the uncomfortable truth about Liverpool star Florian Wirtz. The Reds picked up a much-needed second win of the Premier League season on Sunday, defeating AFC Bournemouth away from home, with Alexander Isak scoring to help Andoni Iraola beat his old club.
It has been a difficult start to the season for Iraola and his men, but they are now starting to pick up results while also knowing they still need to improve in a number of areas. A number of players are yet to find their best form, and one of them is Wirtz, who has struggled to live up to his £116million fee since arriving at the club before last season, albeit he did not decide his fee, of course.
Wirtz looked like a world-beater for Bayer Leverkusen prior to his Anfield move, scoring and assisting for fun, but he has not been anywhere near as productive for the Reds. It hasn't been disastrous, and it's clear the 23-year-old is a talented player, but he simply ah not looked like the constant threat he was in the Bundesliga.
"Wirtz has been really poor again. It's just nothing. Nothing is happening there at all," Carragher said during the Sky Sports commentary of the Bournemouth game.
Wirtz's production at Leverkusen vs Koln vs Liverpool
Leverkusen: 0.29 goals per game, 0.33 assists per game
Liverpool: 0.13 goals per game, 0.2 assists per game
Koln: 0.5 goals per game, 0.12 assists per game
He added in a podcast after the game: "That was one of the poorest I've ever seen him in a Liverpool shirt. I've been critical of the fact that he hasn't got the numbers. But normally when you watch Wirtz, he's neat and tidy, he keeps possession, there's things that you like. He gets out of a tight situation where you're normally expecting your player to lose the ball.
"But the reason I worry is, I don't think Wirtz is in poor form since he came to Liverpool. I actually think what we're seeing is what he is. And I was worried for Wirtz probably 12 months ago.
"And maybe that was a little bit early to say that, but I didn't say it. It was just in the back of my head. I commentated on Liverpool away at Burnley and Liverpool won with a late penalty from Mo Salah. And when I was watching that game it was what I've seen for the last 12 months.
"I don't see how he's going to hurt you. It's just neat and tidy. And in some way, the price tag for that type of player should be half of what Liverpool have paid. The worry for Wirtz now is that his performances so far, or what he's given Liverpool, is so low.
Action Images via Reuters
"Where we were expecting him was to take Liverpool to another league title, to take Liverpool to a Champions League. The gap he's got to get to almost justify what people were expecting, I almost think is too big. You can't get there. Even if he improves a bit and gets there, it's still not what Liverpool thought they were getting. And it's not just Wirtz, it's the knock-on effect. So when he plays at No 10, it means Dominik Szoboszlai has to play central midfield. I don't think Szoboszlai is a central-midfield player, I don't."
Andoni Iraola
Andoni Iraola