The Weight of £116m: Why Florian Wirtz Faces Unfair Scrutiny
Florian Wirtz arrived at Anfield in June 2025 with a reputation as one of European football’s brightest creative talents. Liverpool paid Bayer Leverkusen an initial £100m for him, a fee that can rise to £116m with add-ons. That number has followed him into every conversation about his form since.
Vladimir Smicer, part of Liverpool’s 2005 Champions League-winning squad, believes the fee itself has become the problem. Speaking in an interview with the Liverpool Echo, he argued that supporters and pundits are judging the price tag rather than the player. “Some people are expecting a little too much from him, and I think some people are still seeing the fee that Liverpool paid for him rather than the player, and that’s the problem,” Smicer said.
It is a fair observation. Wirtz’s debut season coincided with a difficult campaign for the club as a whole. Liverpool finished fifth under Arne Slot, well short of the standards set the year before, and a single individual rarely carries the blame for a collective slump. Yet the scale of his fee has made him an easy target for frustration.
Smicer made 184 appearances across six years at Liverpool and understands the pressure that comes with wearing the shirt. His view carries weight precisely because he has lived through high expectation without the added burden of a nine-figure price tag hanging over every touch.
Beyond the Assist Column: Smicer Highlights Key Underlying Impact
Statistics alone do not always tell the full story, and Smicer is adamant that Wirtz’s numbers understate his real contribution. He pointed to a run of near-misses that have gone unrewarded on the scoresheet has more inside him and I think he will probably show it for Liverpool because he’s already been unlucky with some of his passes and other players not scoring goals,” he said. “He is not underachieving if those great passes became assists.”
That distinction matters. A player can create the same chance twice and see wildly different outcomes depending on a teammate’s finishing on the day. Wirtz’s underlying creativity, according to Smicer, has simply not been converted into the goals and assists his passing deserves.
Smicer also touched on the human side of the transition, though he was careful to frame it as personal opinion rather than inside knowledge. “It’s important to know how Florian is feeling about his time at Liverpool and the Premier League,” he said. “I don’t know if he is happy here but I believe he can still unlock something and still do well for Liverpool.”
Those comments should not be mistaken for a claim that Wirtz is unsettled at Anfield. Smicer was clear that he is speculating about a player’s state of mind from the outside, while remaining confident in his long-term ability to influence games for Liverpool.
Evaluating the Pogba Parallel and Tactical Evolution Under Iraola
Supporters have already been debating how much responsibility rests with the head coach for Liverpool’s uneven start to the season, and our assessments of Liverpool’s slow start looked at that question in detail. Wirtz’s adaptation is part of that broader picture, not a separate issue.
Patience Required as Liverpool Rebuild Around High-Value Talent
Wirtz is not an isolated experiment in expensive recruitment. Liverpool completed the £125m signing of Alexander Isak from Newcastle United on 1 September last year, and last month they added Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain for £123m. The club has committed heavily to talent capable of lifting the squad back towards the top of the Premier League.
That level of investment naturally raises the stakes for everyone involved, including the head coach charged with fitting these pieces together. Iraola inherited a squad already reshaped by big spending, and integrating three major additions while installing a new tactical identity was always going to take time.
Smicer’s message is essentially one of patience, both for Wirtz individually and for the wider project. “He is still very young and would like to see him play well for Liverpool and stay at the club for another few years so for me, at the moment, I wouldn’t sell him to Bayern Munich or anybody else,” he said.
That final point is worth underlining. Smicer’s backing of Wirtz is not qualified by any suggestion that the club should consider offers elsewhere. Quite the opposite: his argument is that Liverpool should hold their nerve, trust the underlying numbers he describes, and give a still-developing 23 year old the room to grow into his price tag rather than be crushed by it.
Fifth place last season, a change of head coach and three signings worth a combined £364m tell a story of a club in transition rather than crisis. Wirtz sits at the centre of that rebuild, and how Liverpool manage expectations around him may shape how quickly the project under Iraola begins to bear fruit.
Jamie Carragher Urges Iraola to Drop Florian Wirtz for Man City Clash
Jamie Carragher Urges Iraola to Drop Florian Wirtz for Man City Clash
Liverpool stay unbeaten under Iraola entering international break
Liverpool stay unbeaten under Iraola entering international break