Florian Wirtz: A New Era at Liverpool as No. 10

Florian Wirtz has barely broken sweat in pre-season, but he already sounds like a player reborn.

Back at Liverpool for only a couple of days, the German playmaker has stepped into a very different world. Arne Slot is gone. Andoni Iraola is in. The message to Wirtz has been sharp and simple: you are the No. 10.

No experiments out wide. No shuttling between roles. This season, Liverpool’s attack will have a fixed conductor.

“I just can say that the training is really fun,” Wirtz told club media, the smile almost audible. “I enjoyed every training [session]. We play a lot of games and possessions, and that’s exactly what I like. I just enjoyed it until now.”

Those sessions matter. Iraola’s football is built on intensity and quick combinations, and Wirtz thrives when the ball never stops moving. The early signs suggest a natural fit.

A fresh start after a flat first year

Wirtz does not pretend last season met expectations. Seven goals and 10 assists in his debut campaign is a respectable return, but Liverpool’s year as a whole fell short of the standards the club sets for itself.

“Of course I wasn’t happy at all (last year) — about the season, I mean,” he admitted. “I was not unhappy every day when I came to training, but I think we expected much more.”

That line lingers. Expected much more. From himself, from the team, from the project he walked into.

Now, he sees a reset.

“I think we start from zero this season. Also here with this training camp, it’s a new start. We have a lot of things to do better this season and I’m very excited for season two.”

Season two comes with a clearer role and a manager determined to build a structure around his strengths. A true No. 10 behind a fully fit striker, in a side drilled to press and play at pace, is exactly the kind of platform Wirtz has craved.

Isak at full tilt, Barcola in the frame

Crucially, he will not be creating for a makeshift front line.

Alexander Isak, now over his fitness issues, stands directly in front of Wirtz in Iraola’s blueprint. A technically gifted, mobile centre-forward with a ruthless edge, Isak offers the kind of target every playmaker wants.

“I think he has come in a good place,” Iraola said of the striker earlier this week. “I think he was good in the World Cup. I saw him comfortable. First training [sessions] here, I think I’ve seen a good version of Alex.

“Still, it’s very early because he has just started training, but I hope he can have some minutes against Leeds and build properly a proper pre-season.

“It’s not going to be very long but he will have three or four weeks of quality training, I hope, and we can put him in a good place because he is going to be massive for us this season.”

If Liverpool can also strike an agreement with PSG for Bradley Barcola, Wirtz could soon find himself feeding a front line with pace and movement on both sides. For a No. 10 obsessed with quick combinations and tight spaces, it is an enticing prospect.

Club and country, with Klopp on the horizon

The changes do not stop at club level. This season, Wirtz will work under two new managers: Iraola at Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp with Germany.

For a player who grew up watching Klopp’s high-octane football, the chance to link up with him for the national team adds another layer to an already pivotal year.

“It’s very, very cool that [Klopp is] there now,” Wirtz said. “I’ve not spoken to him yet but a lot of people here at the club told me about him, that he is a fantastic guy. All of Liverpool loves him. So, I’m very excited to meet him in a few months.”

The irony is hard to miss: Klopp, a man who defined an era at Anfield, now waits for Wirtz on the international stage just as Liverpool turn a new page without him.

For Wirtz, though, it all folds into the same story. A first season that felt like a prelude. A summer of change. A manager who has told him exactly where he belongs on the pitch.

He has his position. He has his platform. Now comes the question that will shape Liverpool’s season: can Florian Wirtz turn promise into dominance from the heart of Iraola’s new-look side?