Florian Wirtz faces a pivotal second season at Liverpool after Jamie Carragher questioned whether the Germany international has shown enough to justify his £115m transfer fee.
The 23-year-old playmaker joined the Reds after Liverpool beat competition from Premier League rivals Manchester City and Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich to secure his signature. However, his first campaign in England produced five goals and four assists in 33 Premier League appearances.
Carragher, the former Liverpool defender and Sky Sports pundit, believes Wirtz now has only a short period in which to demonstrate that he can become the influential player Liverpool expected to sign.
Writing in The Telegraph, Carragher said: “Florian Wirtz faces a make-or-break season, but more is at stake than his Liverpool career as he belatedly seeks to establish himself in the Premier League.
“English football needs Wirtz to succeed as much as Andoni Iraola, the new coach at Anfield… How Wirtz fares at the start of this season will indicate whether he will be viewed as the right signing in the wrong era for Liverpool, moving to Merseyside just as the Premier League’s preferred style reverted to set-piece dominance.
“The jury is out on whether he possesses the tools to overcome the physical challenge. I must admit, I have my doubts… Even at his best, Wirtz has looked “neat and tidy” rather than the killer in and around the penalty box one would have expected given his fee and reputation.
“He has resembled a useful squad addition for about £40m rather than a game-changer who cost £115m… Given the repercussions across the side and for his club’s hopes of an immediate recovery after a torrid 12 months, Wirtz simply must perform to the standard of a top-class Liverpool player. Last year he was afforded months to show up. This season he will probably be given only a few weeks.”
Wirtz arrived at Anfield with a strong reputation, having played a major role in Leverkusen’s unbeaten title-winning campaign in Germany less than two years earlier.
His attacking output had also been consistent before the move to Liverpool. He recorded 11 goals and 12 assists during the 2023/24 season, before producing 10 goals and 13 assists in his final campaign in Germany.
Although Wirtz displayed flashes of technical quality and creativity during his first season in the Premier League, Carragher feels that his final contribution was not sufficiently decisive to ease Liverpool’s problems in attack.
Wirtz recently reflected on a frustrating campaign after Liverpool’s 3-2 pre-season defeat by AS Monaco. The midfielder said he was focused on improving his own performances and helping the team rather than dwelling on his status within the squad.
“I’m just trying to make my job better. To make the team better and I don’t think too much about how important I am, I just want to make the club successful.
“I just want to be the best version of myself. I try my best to win as many trophies as we can win and I’ll try to play my part this season.
“I’ve played one year now in England and I’ve said often enough that it’s a different style of football than in Germany. You just get used to the games and your opponents. I just know how it is now, so I’m happy to have my next season.
“l definitely learned a lot (from his first season). 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.
“I have not spoken about the style so much [with Iraola], I think he has his ideas of playing football and we just have to work on that even more now.”
Liverpool were the Premier League champions last season, but Carragher believes Wirtz’s performances will be closely scrutinised as the club seeks an immediate recovery after what he described as a difficult 12 months. While the midfielder has already been given an extended opportunity to adapt to English football, the former defender expects the expectations to be significantly greater at the start of the new campaign.
