Jamie Carragher was scathing about Florian Wirtz after his performance at Bournemouth, but are the Liverpool man's critics being overly harsh a year into his Anfield career?
Liverpool attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz has made a slow start to his Anfield career
Liverpool attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz has made a slow start to his Anfield career(Image: David Horton - CameraSport via Getty Images)
Florian Wirtz has just one assist to his name so far this season, and the chatter around his effectiveness was ramped up after some strong criticism from Jamie Carragher this weekend.
After he struggled against Bournemouth, the 23-year-old was the subject of plenty of discourse. Carragher said that he should be dropped by Andoni Iraola, and that what we have seen so far from the former Bayer Leverkusen playmaker might simply be his level.
Perhaps there is more to come from Wirtz. But what should happen next with him at Anfield, and are his critics correct or premature? Some of our Liverpool.com writers have their say.
Matt Addison
Wirtz is yet to show anything like his full potential at Liverpool. I think we can all agree on that. I'm not having it that he should be written off at this stage, however.
Having arrived for a huge sum of money, it was always going to be the case that people would expect him to hit the ground running. But it should not be forgotten that he is only 23 — two years younger than Mohamed Salah was when he came in; a year younger than Kevin De Bruyne when he moved to Manchester City.
Only six players in the entire Premier League have run more (on a per 90-minute basis) than Wirtz so far this term, and we know from his time at Bayer Leverkusen — 57 goals and 65 assists before the age of 22 — that the numbers can come.
Wirtz joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen last year
Wirtz joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen last year(Image: Getty Images)
There is no doubt that Wirtz was poor at Bournemouth, but equally, he showed against Atletico Madrid that he can fit into the way that Iraola wants to play. I'm simply not prepared to write off such a talented player just yet.
The hope has to be that Wirtz can return from the international break with a bit more confidence. It will also be up to Iraola to ensure that his system gets the most out of the playmaker. Until the end of this season, it's too soon to be making any concrete verdicts on the $157 million (£116 million) man, for me.
Jeremy Goldstein
Wirtz is clearly a gifted player who almost seems afraid of being a Premier League star. It's like throwing the best dribbler from a U17 academy side straight in as the No. 10 of a top team and saying. 'Don't lose the ball.'
He's no better than Curtis Jones, sold for a quarter of the price.
Tom Blow
Iraola must bench Wirtz and make him fight for his place in the starting XI. It's not just the German midfielder's Premier League record — five goals and five assists — that's underwhelming. His performances have also been very disappointing.
Wirtz often looks like the spare part in this Liverpool attack, not knowing where to position himself or where to run. When the ball came across the box for Liverpool's winner against Bournemouth, it was Alexander Isak who got on the end of the ball, not Wirtz.
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If he were producing moments of magic in games — doing things that make you stand up and pay attention — then you could accept his poor goal contribution record. But the game just seems to pass him by before Iraola inevitably substitutes him.
I haven't seen any tangible evidence that Wirtz is the man to lead Liverpool's attack over the next decade. He needs to start proving himself as a matchwinner — just like Isak and Cody Gakpo have done this season. If he doesn't, his Liverpool career will be over.
James Findlater
Wirtz really leaves me torn. On the one hand, everything I’ve heard about him from his time at Bayer Leverkusen points to him being a seriously good player, and you don’t attract interest from Bayern Munich and Manchester City unless you’ve got something about you.
On the other hand, the more I watch him, the less convinced I become that he can make it in the Premier League.
That performance against Bournemouth was so poor that I think there is little choice but to take him out of the team when the Reds return from the international break. You can’t keep a player in the side just because he cost a lot of money to sign.
What really concerns me is there still seems to be some debate about what his best position is, and if that’s still not clear after more than a year at the club, then it doesn’t feel too promising for his future. Wirtz’s performances need to improve quickly, or else Liverpool is going to have to make a very difficult decision next summer.