Florian Wirtz's Struggles at Liverpool: Carragher's Brutal Assessment
Jamie Carragher did not bother dressing it up. For him, this was Florian Wirtz’s lowest point in a Liverpool shirt – and bad enough that he would leave the German out of Andoni Iraola’s side for their next game against Manchester City.
The former Liverpool defender spent most of the first half of the 1-0 win at Bournemouth dissecting Wirtz’s display on Sky Sports co-commentary. The verdict was brutal.
“Wirtz has been really poor again,” he said on air. “It's just nothing. Nothing is happening there at all.”
The performance did not improve enough to change his mind.
‘One of the poorest I’ve seen him’
On his Jamie Carragher Podcast after the game, the Sky Sports pundit doubled down, arguing that this is not a blip. This is the player.
“That was one of the poorest I've ever seen him in a Liverpool shirt,” Carragher said. “I've been critical of the fact that he hasn't got the numbers. But normally when you watch Wirtz, he's neat and tidy, he keeps possession, there's things that you like. He gets out of a tight situation where you're normally expecting your player to lose the ball.
“But the reason I worry is, I don't think Wirtz is in poor form since he came to Liverpool. I actually think what we're seeing is what he is.”
Carragher admitted the doubts have been simmering for a while.
“I was worried for Wirtz probably 12 months ago. And maybe that was a little bit early to say that, but I didn't say it. It was just in the back of my head.
“I commentated on Liverpool away at Burnley and Liverpool won with a late penalty from Mo Salah. And when I was watching that game it was what I've seen for the last 12 months: I don't see how he's going to hurt you. It's just neat and tidy.
“And in some way, the price tag for that type of player should be half of what Liverpool have paid.”
This, for Carragher, is the crux. Liverpool did not sign Wirtz to be tidy. They signed him to tilt title races.
“The worry for Wirtz now is that his performances so far, or what he's given Liverpool, is so low. Where we were expecting him was to take Liverpool to another league title, to take Liverpool to a Champions League.
“The gap he's got to get to almost justify what people were expecting, I almost think is too big. You can't get there. Even if he improves a bit and gets there, it's still not what Liverpool thought they were getting.”
Knock-on effect for Szoboszlai
Carragher’s criticism stretches beyond one player. He sees a structural problem in Iraola’s midfield whenever Wirtz starts at No 10.
“And it's not just Wirtz, it's the knock-on effect. So when he plays at No 10, it means Dominik Szoboszlai has to play central midfield. I don't think Szoboszlai is a central-midfield player, I don't.”
‘He can’t be in the Man City team’
The timing makes this all the more stark. Liverpool are heading into a season-defining stretch straight after a three-week international break. Manchester City, under Enzo Maresca, come to Anfield on October 11. Brentford and Brighton follow in the league. Arsenal await at the Emirates Stadium on October 1. LASK and Villarreal lie ahead in the Champions League, with Chelsea in the Carabao Cup fourth round.
Carragher is clear: Wirtz should not start that City game.
“I think going forward Iraola's got a decision to make here. Wirtz would not be in my Liverpool team,” he said.
“I thought this Bournemouth game was a big game for Wirtz. Because if he doesn't produce [against Bournemouth], he's then going to have a three-week break. By the time we come back, we're into October. Before you know it, it'll be Christmas in six to eight weeks, or it'll feel like we're getting to Christmas. He has to do something!”
Carragher then widened the lens. Forget the £100m-plus bracket. Forget elite rivals. Just look around the division.
“If you go through the Premier League and think of players in his position - not just for the top teams, forget the top teams who we should be judging him against, I'm talking about normal Premier League players in the middle of the table - who have done more for their clubs.
“I think of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall at Everton. No one out there would say Dewsbury-Hall is a better player than Wirtz, or would go for more money than Wirtz, or would cost £120m. But every three or four weeks he scores a goal.
“I watched Morgan Gibbs-White for Nottingham Forest last week at Aston Villa, and in the second half he put in a performance in 45 minutes that Florian Wirtz has never done before for Liverpool.
“I've seen a goal Emiliano Buendia scored for Aston Villa at Tottenham. Again, these players aren't going to get over £100m, or £120m, but they're still giving their clubs bits every few weeks.
“Wirtz wouldn't be in my Liverpool team. Manchester City at home, for me, he can't be in the team.”
Iraola’s big calls – and the next one
Carragher does, though, see one encouraging sign: Iraola is not afraid of big decisions.
“The things I've liked so far about Iraola, he's had the courage to make big decisions. Ryan Gravenberch has just signed a hefty contract on a five-year deal on massive money, because they thought him and Szoboszlai were going to be the future of the midfield going forward. He's not playing.
“Now, I can imagine the guys at the top of the club looking at that, thinking we've just given him a hefty contract. But no, he's not playing.
“The full-back situation, he keeps changing the full-backs, he's dropped Jeremie Frimpong straight away. Milos Kerkez has been in and out. So he's made decisions.
“But sooner or later he's going to have to make a decision on Florian Wirtz, and, for me, I hope it's sooner. Not because I don't like Florian Wirtz, I'm desperate for the kid to do well. I just want Liverpool to win. That's it, basically.”
The message is ruthless but not personal. Carragher insists his stance comes from what he believes is best for the team, not from any agenda against the player.
Klopp, Germany and a lifeline
There is, in his view, one possible escape route for Wirtz in the short term – and it comes away from Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp, now in charge of Germany, has called Wirtz up for the upcoming Nations League fixtures. The midfielder has been named in one of two separate Germany squads and will rest before being in contention for the final two games against Serbia and Greece.
“The one hope for Liverpool supporters now is Jurgen Klopp is the Germany manager,” Carragher said.
“Wirtz goes away with the Germany team for three weeks, and he's obviously one of the best players in Germany, that's how they see him. Can Jurgen Klopp sprinkle a bit of stardust on him in that position?
“Jurgen is one of the greatest managers in the world, we know that. And what he gets out of players is probably more than most managers because of the nature of his personality, and fingers crossed something can happen for him.
“There's a scenario there that Jurgen Klopp and Germany have a great international window, he gets loads of goals, assists and comes back on a high. Manchester City's the next game, he impacts that, all is forgotten, all is forgiven. There's a potential turnaround there.
“I would love that to happen, I'd love him to be the match-winner against Manchester City.”
For now, though, Wirtz heads into the break as a £100m-plus playmaker under fierce scrutiny, his place in Liverpool’s biggest game of the season openly questioned by one of the club’s most influential voices. The next time he pulls on a shirt – Germany’s or Liverpool’s – he may be playing not just for form, but for his role in Iraola’s project.
