Florian Wirtz arrived at Liverpool as one of the most coveted attacking players in world football. More than a year on from a £116m transfer, that reputation is still waiting to be justified in England, and the question of whether he should keep his place has now been asked out loud.
The raw numbers tell a difficult story. Wirtz has scored seven goals and provided 11 assists across 56 appearances for the club, and he registered no goal involvements against any of the top-10 teams in the Premier League last season. This term he has started every one of Liverpool’s games in both the league and the Champions League, yet has managed a single assist across seven matches.
Those struggles were laid bare on Sunday against Manchester City. New Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola, who succeeded Arne Slot in the summer, replaced Wirtz with Trey Nyoni in the 66th minute, shortly after Ryan Gravenberch was sent off and Erling Haaland broke the deadlock. City went on to win 3-0 at Anfield, with Rayan Cherki completing the scoring.
Cherki’s presence in that game sharpened the comparison. Liverpool had looked at the France attacker, with Slot flying to the south of France for talks at the end of the 2024-25 season, but Wirtz was the main target, also wanted by Bayern Munich and Manchester City. Once Wirtz indicated his preference was to move to Anfield and join the then-Premier League champions, the £116m deal became a formality. Cherki, meanwhile, joined City from Lyon for £30m in June 2025 and has since scored 16 goals and provided 18 assists in 65 appearances for his new club — a return that has come at less than a third of the price Liverpool paid for Wirtz.
Former Liverpool defender Steven Warnock is among those who believes Wirtz is not doing enough. “Wirtz has so much ability. I wish I had that ability because he just glides. He makes it look effortless – but he doesn’t hurt teams,” Warnock told BBC Radio 5 Live. “He doesn’t impact the game enough. He drifts in and out of games. He’s here for 10 or 20 seconds and then he disappears for five or 10 minutes and you think where is he now?”
Jamie Carragher went further after the defeat by City, telling Sky Sports that Iraola should leave the German out. “I think he needs to come out of the team, I said that last time out and I’m going to say it again,” he said. “Liverpool played well [against Man City] for a lot of the game before the Gravenberch red card but they didn’t create a chance, so they have a real problem with scoring goals and creating chances and that’s what you got Wirtz for. He’s not giving you anything defensively and he’s not giving you anything going the other way. I don’t want anyone to pile in on the lad but I think we’re justified in saying we need more and we can’t wait.”
Dropping Wirtz would not be a straightforward call. Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai are all currently sidelined, and Liverpool have two games every week between now and the November international break. With Gravenberch suspended for Saturday’s trip to Brentford, Iraola will likely keep the Dutch midfielder in for Wednesday’s Champions League game against LASK in Austria and hand a start to Nyoni, with more changes expected from the side that lost to City.
Asked on Tuesday whether Wirtz needed more time, Iraola defended his player. “The other day, he probably he didn’t have his best game but he has had good games with us this season,” the manager said. “Everyone starts looking for answers. He had some good performances in the national team – he scored one goal and he will have better or worse games. But I would like to look at it more collectively and more how they help us play and get results and after that I don’t care who scores. I think it’s a more collective thing.”
The wider picture gives Iraola grounds for patience. Wirtz’s best performance of the season came in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid, when he was unfortunate not to claim an assist after Bradley Barcola fired wide. He created 95 chances from open play in all competitions last season, at least 27 more than any other Liverpool player, and his fizzing pass for Victor Munoz’s equaliser against Nottingham Forest in August offered a glimpse of his class — even if such moments have been few and far between.
Others around the game remain convinced of his quality. Wirtz has continued to excel for Germany under Jurgen Klopp, who said recently: “Attacking players always need a functioning team that works well around them. Anyone who loves football can still see how outstanding Florian is as a player.” Steven Gerrard struck a similar note, telling The Overlap: “I can just picture him beating himself up on how his Liverpool thing has started. This kid is a major talent in my opinion. I’ve seen enough to believe and give him a chance. I think he needs help and support now.”
Wirtz himself was optimistic about the season ahead. Back in August he spoke candidly about feeling “more ready” for his second campaign at Anfield, having focused on bulking up during his first year. “I definitely learned a lot. I just learned how Premier League football is played and I think I am more ready for my second season because I know how it is now. I am really excited for my next season,” he said at the time, before impressing in pre-season. Two months into the new campaign, however, the pressure is mounting for those performances to arrive in competitive matches — and if they do not, Iraola will be left with a difficult decision to make.