Jamie Carragher says Andoni Iraola should take Florian Wirtz out of his Liverpool starting XI after the international break, but what would it look like if he did?
Florian Wirtz has struggled to show his best form since joining Liverpool
Florian Wirtz has struggled to show his best form since joining Liverpool(Image: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Florian Wirtz has become a talking point at a time when club soccer has halted to make way for the international break, and, having been given the first two games off, he won't be in action for Germany until next week.
While Liverpool fans will hope that some training sessions with Jurgen Klopp can help restore his confidence, the next three weeks are likely to contain plenty of discourse about what he does and doesn't offer at Anfield.
"I think going forward, he’s got a decision to make, Andoni Iraola," Reds legend Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports after they beat Bournemouth at the weekend, offering some blunt views on the German playmaker.
"I mean, Wirtz wouldn’t be in my Liverpool team. He wouldn’t," Carragher continued.
"If you look at the league and players in his position... forget the top teams; normal Premier League players in the middle of the table who have done more for their clubs.
"I think of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall at Everton. No one will say he’s a better player than Wirtz, but every three to four weeks, he scores a goal.
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has made his feelings clear
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has made his feelings clear(Image: Sky Sports // YouTube)
"I watched Morgan Gibbs-White last week against Aston Villa. He put in a performance for 45 minutes that Wirtz has never done before for Liverpool. I saw a goal Emi Buendia scored. They are giving their club bits."
If the Reds were to take Carragher's advice, though, and take Wirtz out of the team, what would that look like? So far, Iraola has shown no willingness to do it.
He does have Dominik Szoboszlai, who can play as a number 10, but that would take him out of the deeper midfield duo.
And it is not like Ryan Gravenberch has been doing much to suggest he should have a bigger role alongside Alexis Mac Allister. There is Trey Nyoni as well, of course, but at 19, he can't play every single week.
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With only Alexander Isak fit at number nine right now, Wirtz is the only real option to play alongside him in attack aside from moving a winger inside because of the limited roster that Iraola is working with.
Cody Gakpo could play as a second striker, but he has been doing well out wide. Victor Munoz, Rio Ngumoha and Bradley Barcola are all very much wingers.
That would suggest that persisting with Wirtz would make sense. That appears to be the most likely course of action in most matches, with Lewis Koumas better suited to cameos off the bench.
While Liverpool needs to see more from its big-money playmaker, taking him out doesn't feel like that successful a strategy.