**Florian Wirtz was in superb form against Crystal Palace and proved that he is the player Liverpool need to build their project around.**
When Liverpool spent £100m up front, with £16m in achievable add-ons taking the total price to £116m, it wasn’t done on a whim. FSG had been tracking the German since he made the switch from Koln to Leverkusen despite spending 10 years in the Koln academy.
Five years at Leverkusen saw him become a title-winning talisman in 2024, scoring 57 goals and assisting 65 across his time with the Bundesliga outfit.
Seven goals and ten assists in his debut season, despite the systemic problems at Liverpool suggests that the project trajectory of his Anfield career is well on track.
Wirtz stats and performance against Palace
------------------------------------------
For only the third time since Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat to Brighton on 21 March, Wirtz played the full 90 minutes of a game, and his influence was obvious.
To underline why he should be on the pitch for 90 minutes, Wirtz scored the third goal to make it 3-1 against Palace with a beautifully struck volley into the top right corner in the 97th minute of the game.
On top of his goal, Wirtz played two key passes, completing 93% of his 40 passes in Palace’s half of the field.
He also made seven ball recoveries, capping off a fantastic overall display from the German.
> Florian Wirtz vs Crystal Palace
>
> [pic.twitter.com/WVxrP6WBXi](https://t.co/WVxrP6WBXi)
>
> — Savvy (@lfcsavvy) [April 25, 2026](https://twitter.com/lfcsavvy/status/2048075599055380789?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Wirtz is the future: The next three years of Liverpool recruitment should be shaped around him
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While Arne Slot is logically a bad fit for Liverpool, the Dutchman has had some major hurdles to clear that could be deemed unlucky. Despite all of this, Wirtz has managed to show what he’s capable of, and it tracks that if things improve around him, his level can only go up.
Liverpool need to focus on recruiting players who support in his defensive load and enable his attacking talents to thrive. He’s also extremely useful in managing games, as his press resistance is vital to surviving difficult spells.
He needs a defensive midfielder to anchor Liverpool’s midfield in a way that Ryan Gravenberch simply isn’t able to for all his other undeniable talents.
Wirtz also needs someone else on the left wing other than Cody Gakpo, with whom he seemingly has very low chemistry on the pitch.