Florian Wirtz is under pressure again, and the debate about him has now reached the blue half of Merseyside.
The Germany international joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025 in a deal reported at €125m.
He arrived with one of the best records of any young attacker in Europe, having scored 57 goals and provided more than 60 assists in 197 games for Leverkusen.
His numbers in England have not come close.
Wirtz has seven goals and nine assists in 55 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions.
In the Premier League, he has five goals and four assists in 38 games.
At Leverkusen, he managed 35 goals and 44 assists in 140 Bundesliga matches as he was directly involved in a goal roughly every 120 minutes for Leverkusen.
At Liverpool it is closer to one every 250 minutes, so his output has more than halved.
This season has not changed the picture much so far.
He had registered just one assist in 2026/27 before the international break, and he has struggled to find his place in Andoni Iraola’s system.
Some pundits have started to suggest Liverpool will never see much more than this. But one player watching from across Stanley Park sees it differently.
Everton midfielder Merlin Rohl, who is also German, has given his view on his compatriot’s difficult spell, and he believes the price tag is a big part of the problem.
“People don’t quite know how to rate him yet,” Rohl told Kicker.
“Then there’s that huge transfer fee, which doesn’t make things easy for anyone. But Flo is an incredibly good player.”
Rohl also described the English game as one that swings between extremes. In his view, players are either praised to the skies or torn to shreds, and he believes that is part of what makes the Premier League so compelling for supporters.
His point about the fee is fair. Wirtz’s output in Germany came with high expectations attached, and every quiet game in England is measured against that price.
There are signs he may be turning a corner.
During the international break, Wirtz hit the post in the move that led to Germany’s opener against Serbia and then scored the second himself, giving Jurgen Klopp his first win as Germany manager.
Klopp has also spoken with him about his situation, and Wirtz said he would take a few of those ideas back to Liverpool.
He also captained Germany against Greece. That is a vote of confidence from the manager who knows Liverpool better than almost anyone.
The next test comes immediately. With Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo injured, Liverpool need more from their attackers against Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday.
Rohl may believe in Wirtz, but Everton will hope the turnaround waits until after the Merseyside derby on 29 November.
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