Florian Wirtz's Premier League Future in Doubt: Carragher's Concerns

Jamie Carragher has cast serious doubt over whether Florian Wirtz can ever truly dominate in the Premier League, questioning if Liverpool’s £115m signing has the physical edge to justify his price tag.

The former Liverpool defender, writing in his Telegraph column, did not hide his concern as Wirtz heads into what he labelled a “make-or-break season” at Anfield.

Carragher’s concern is simple: he is not convinced Wirtz can handle the league’s intensity.

“The jury is out on whether he possesses the tools to overcome the physical challenge. I must admit, I have my doubts,” he wrote, drawing a sharp contrast between the expectations when Wirtz arrived from Bayer Leverkusen last summer and the reality of his first year in England.

From De Bruyne hopes to “neat and tidy”

Liverpool believed they were signing a player capable of reshaping their attack. The hope was that Wirtz would step into the Premier League and bend games to his will in the way Kevin De Bruyne has done for years at Manchester City.

That comparison now feels heavy on Wirtz’s shoulders.

“When he joined Liverpool, the hope at Anfield was that Wirtz would dominate in the same manner as Kevin De Bruyne did,” Carragher wrote. “But the German does not have the athleticism or running and shooting power of De Bruyne.”

Instead of a ruthless force around the penalty area, Carragher sees a player who has, so far, only hinted at his billing.

“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 added. In Carragher’s eyes, the German has looked more like “a useful squad addition for about £40m rather than a game-changer who cost £115m.”

That assessment cuts to the heart of Liverpool’s frustration. Wirtz produced flashes of quality last season, but never sustained them. As Liverpool’s title defence unravelled and Arne Slot’s reign ended with a fifth-placed finish, Wirtz’s influence faded with the team’s.

Tactical squeeze and an uncertain role

Those close to Wirtz, Carragher notes, argue that one season is often not enough for a technical player to adapt to English football. They point to the adjustment period, the pace, the physical duels. There is still time, they insist.

Carragher accepts the argument to a point, but he sees another problem looming: where Wirtz actually fits in Andoni Iraola’s system.

Last season, as Liverpool’s defensive issues mounted, Slot compromised. The German playmaker, signed to operate centrally as an attacking midfielder, found himself shunted to the left wing as structure and security took priority over attacking idealism.

Carragher can see the same pattern emerging if Liverpool again look fragile without the ball.

“If Wirtz does not have the desired impact in the early games this season, it is not difficult to foresee history repeating itself and Iraola realising he must compromise attacking romanticism for pragmatism,” he wrote.

Iraola’s preference for out-and-out wingers raises the stakes. If the new manager sticks to that shape, there is a real risk Wirtz ends up either out of position again or out of the starting XI altogether.

“Given [Andoni] Iraola sets up his side with out-and-out wingers, such circumstances would raise serious doubts about Wirtz’s future,” Carragher warned.

Big window, small return

Wirtz arrived as the headline act in what looked, on paper, like a transformative summer for Liverpool. Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong all came through the door alongside him, a bold attempt to refresh a squad expected to challenge for the title again.

Only Ekitike truly made an impression.

Liverpool finished 25 points behind champions Arsenal, miles off the standard required at the top of the table. For a club that invested so heavily, that gap stings. For a record signing who has yet to justify the outlay, the scrutiny will only intensify.

There is no gentle easing into this campaign for Wirtz either. Liverpool open their 2026/27 Premier League season away at Newcastle, under Iraola, at a raucous St James’ Park on Sunday, 23 August, at 4.30pm.

On a day like that, in a stadium like that, Liverpool need more than “neat and tidy” from their £115m midfielder. They need the game-changer they thought they were buying.