Florian Wirtz's Struggles at Liverpool: Jamie Carragher's Critique

Jamie Carragher did not bother dressing it up. For him, this was the worst Florian Wirtz has looked in a Liverpool shirt.

The former Liverpool defender spent the first half of the 1-0 win at Bournemouth dissecting the German’s display on Sky Sports co-commentary. He sounded exasperated.

“Wirtz has been really poor again,” he said. “It's just nothing. Nothing is happening there at all.”

By full-time, his stance had hardened.

‘What we’re seeing is what he is’

On the Jamie Carragher Podcast, recorded after the game, the Sky Sports pundit went further, suggesting Wirtz may never reach the level Liverpool thought they were buying.

"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 alarm bells started ringing a year ago.

"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 is the crux of it for Carragher: expectation versus reality.

"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."

And the issue, in his eyes, stretches beyond one player.

"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 could hardly be more awkward. Liverpool are staring at a season-defining stretch straight after a three-week international break.

Enzo Maresca’s Manchester City come to Anfield on October 11. Before that month is out, Andoni Iraola must also take his side into Premier League games against Brentford and Brighton, then a huge clash with Arsenal at the Emirates on October 1.

Threaded through that run are Champions League ties with LASK and Villarreal and a Carabao Cup fourth-round meeting with Chelsea. Every selection will carry weight.

For Carragher, one call is obvious.

"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, comparing Wirtz to players who operate in similar roles across the league.

"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."

Carragher pointed to Iraola’s willingness to be ruthless as a reason to believe a big call is coming.

"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."

Klopp, Germany and a possible escape route

Amid the criticism, Carragher still sees one lifeline for Wirtz – and it lies away from Merseyside.

Jurgen Klopp, now in charge of Germany, has called up the Liverpool midfielder for the upcoming Nations League window. Wirtz has been included in one of two Germany squads and will be rested initially before being in contention for the final two fixtures 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, the reality is harsher. Liverpool’s £100m-plus playmaker is under intense scrutiny, his place in the biggest game of the season in serious doubt.

The question is no longer what Wirtz might become. It’s whether he can change the story quickly enough to stay on the pitch when City walk out at Anfield.