Florian Wirtz has managed one help in six appearances for Liverpool this season, and the criticism has been loud. Jamie Carragher stated on the primary Monday Night time Soccer of the marketing campaign that the summer time of 2025 by which Liverpool signed Wirtz could possibly be remembered because the worst switch window in Premier League historical past.
Carragher was direct about Wirtz particularly. He stated he feared that what supporters had been watching was not a participant in poor type however merely the actual Wirtz, and that the hole between the German’s output and Liverpool‘s expectations was too massive to shut. He added that, if the choice had been his, Wirtz wouldn’t be within the beginning eleven.
What the numbers truly present
Opta analyst David Segar, writing in The Guardian on 24 September, acknowledged that Wirtz’s 70.3 per cent pass-completion price in opposition to Bournemouth in a 1-0 win was beneath the usual anticipated of a inventive midfielder. Too many simple passes had been both overhit or directed straight to Bournemouth defenders, and he misplaced possession 15 occasions earlier than being substituted within the 71st minute.
But Segar additionally pointed to figures that complicate the easy narrative. Wirtz created three probabilities in opposition to Bournemouth, stage with Cody Gakpo for probably the most within the staff. He received six of eight duels and recovered the ball 4 occasions, a complete solely Alexis Mac Allister, Araujo and Jaquet exceeded. A run he made on the close to submit additionally contributed to Alexander Isak‘s profitable purpose, although the deflection off a defender meant no help was recorded.
Throughout the primary 5 Premier League matches, Wirtz coated extra floor than some other Liverpool participant in three of them. Within the league this season he has already accomplished 19 progressive passes, putting him joint sixteenth, and his 43 penetrating passes give him 9.6 per 90 minutes, practically double his price of 5.2 per 90 from final season.
He has additionally recovered the ball within the opposition’s attacking third six occasions, with solely 5 Premier League gamers doing so extra usually.
A troublesome first season and what got here earlier than it
Final season Wirtz scored seven objectives and added eight assists in 49 appearances as Liverpool completed fifth and missed the Champions League. The marketing campaign was formed by troublesome circumstances, together with the dying of Diogo Jota, and Arne Slot by no means discovered the fluency that had outlined the earlier yr.
Earlier than becoming a member of Liverpool, Wirtz’s file at Bayer Leverkusen was distinctive. Within the 2023-24 season he contributed 18 objectives and 19 assists in 47 video games, the one participant throughout Europe’s high 5 leagues to succeed in 16 objectives and 16 assists in all competitions. In his last Bundesliga season he added 16 objectives and 14 assists, together with his 12 open-play assists second solely to Mohamed Salah and Lamine Yamal among the many 5 main leagues.
On the 2026 World Cup, held throughout the US, Canada and Mexico, he offered three assists in 4 video games earlier than Germany had been eradicated by Paraguay on penalties within the spherical of 32. Solely two gamers on the match had extra assists, and solely 5 gamers created extra open-play probabilities than his 9.
The case for endurance
Segar famous that Wirtz, who’s 23, has produced a minimum of two high-level performances already this season. In Liverpool’s 2-2 residence draw with Nottingham Forest he was the staff’s greatest menace, having a purpose dominated out for a Frimpong offside earlier than helping Victor Munoz’s equaliser. Within the 2-1 Champions League residence win over Atletico Madrid he was equally spectacular, establishing a transparent probability that Bradley Barcola missed.
Liverpool supervisor Antoni Iraola was measured in his evaluation after the Bournemouth match. He stated Wirtz had a gradual begin to the sport however improved within the second half, discovering higher positions to obtain and switch, and that he was way more glad with Wirtz’s efficiency after the interval.
Segar drew a comparability with Paul Pogba at Manchester United, arguing that Pogba’s popularity was broken disproportionately by the load of his then-record £93m payment and the hype surrounding his return to Previous Trafford in 2016. The £116m spent on Wirtz invitations the identical scrutiny.
Segar’s conclusion was that six video games shouldn’t be sufficient information to find out whether or not Wirtz can attain the extent Liverpool paid for, and that Iraola’s system remains to be in its early levels.
