Recruited for £116 million, Florian Wirtz is still struggling to live up to the expectations placed on him at Liverpool. After another disappointing performance against Manchester City, the German international was heavily criticized in England, where the tabloids now believe that he no longer deserves his starting place. The former Reds defender particularly points out his lack of offensive influence, while the attacking midfielder has still not scored in the Premier League this season.
On the set of Sky SportsJamie Carragher did not mince his words after his team’s defeat against the Citizens (0-3). “He shouldn’t be in the Liverpool squad right now. What Florian Wirtz brings to Liverpool is not enough at the moment. Wirtz never gives the impression of being able to score a goal.he said, believing that the player had had enough time to convince. The former England international, however, had placed one last hope in the influence of Jürgen Klopp, who had worked alongside Wirtz with the German selection. But this prospect was obviously not enough to revive the attacking midfielder, still in difficulty under the orders of Andoni Iraola.
Jamie Carragher destroys Florian Wirtz
The numbers illustrate the 23-year-old’s struggles. In six Premier League games this season, Wirtz has scored no goals and provided just one assist. Since his arrival at the Reds, he has totaled seven goals and eleven assists in 56 appearances. Against Manchester City, his influence was notably much less than that of Elliot Anderson, the Cityzens midfielder. According to a comparison reported by the TelegraphWirtz only touched 46 balls and completed 20 passes, compared to 100 balls and 71 passes respectively for his opponent. The German only won four duels, while Anderson won eleven.
He simply has to do better, especially in matches of this importance. He was overall ineffective and made poor decisionsadded the BBCwho gave it a score of 4/10. And Carragher took it upon himself to finish him off Skysports. “I struggle to remember a single game where he made Liverpool win or where he was man of the match. He was recruited to become a Premier League star. I thought he could be the Kevin De Bruyne who, at times, allowed Manchester City to win. Wirtz has been here for 55 to 60 games, it’s huge and I don’t see that changing. Wirtz is almost guaranteed to play at number 10 every week, this has to stop. I think he should leave the team. I said it last time and I’ll say it again. » While Liverpool must deal with the absences of Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo, the club’s flagship recruitment was expected around the corner. But between a goalless start to the season in the league and performances deemed too discreet, Wirtz now finds himself under pressure, to the point of seeing his place in the starting lineup directly called into question.
