Florian Wirtz is ‘nothing’ and Liverpool aren’t much more because of him | OneFootball

It feels like 99 per cent of the criticism aimed at Florian Wirtz is prefaced with an element of praise over his “obvious ability” or regret at taking aim at such a “clearly lovely footballer” for being a complete waste of space.

He’s now played over 4000 minutes of football for Liverpool. He has seven assists and 11 goals. And no, most of the time he doesn’t “pass the eye test”.

A nice touch, a neat turn or a decent pass is less an indication of his burgeoning Premier League readiness than him being bullied off the ball or giving it away the rest of the time is proof that it’s never going to work out for him at Anfield.

Liverpool were outstanding in 2024/2025 to win the title and deplorable for much of last season. The main difference in the team? Florian Wirtz.

Has any big-money summer signing ever been afforded so much leeway? Has there ever been a footballer who promised so much and delivered so little? Let’s tell it like it is: Florian Wirtz is a sh*te Premier League footballer.

Even at his best it looks as though he’s playing with a flat football. His touch is generally excellent so the ball often falls dead at his feet. But that means that it always feels as though it’s too close to him, making it a real problem to get away from opposition players as he never looks truly in his stride.

The ball also looks far heavier for him than anyone else; like he’s struggling to muster the force to pass it far enough or shoot with enough power to test the goalkeeper.

On a bad day like this, when his touch escapes him so frequently, he might as well be playing with a rugby ball.

“That was really poor. He’s been really poor again,” Jamie Carragher said as Wirtz rolled a through ball straight out of play in the first half as his teammates looked at him in confusion as to whom it was aimed for.

“It’s just nothing. Nothing is happening there at all. I know I’m seen as a big critic of Florian Wirtz but I don’t think there’s been much criticism whatsoever if you think about what Liverpool spent on him and what they thought they were getting.”

The irony of Liverpool’s best forward being the one they didn’t want over their three nine-figure signings was further strengthened at the Vitality Stadium as Cody Gakpo thrived out of position on the right flank, in a significant boon for the Liverpool directors after a strange summer of Mohamed Salah’s succession planning, while Isak and Barcola struggled ahead of Wirtz.

But Isak scored the winner following Gakpo’s excellent barrelling run down the right and looked far more dangerous after finding the net. And this was only Barcola’s fifth appearance for the club.

When people say there’s more to come from them there’s genuine hope and expectation, tempered chiefly by the playmaker they have playing behind them, over whom optimism has dwindled to the point where pie-in-the-sky stories of Bayern Munich reigniting their interest are welcomed by Liverpool stakeholders wondering how on earth they’re going to make their money back.

“Ooff, honestly,” an exasperated Carragher said. “I’m surprised Wirtz has come out for the second half – he’s given the ball away twice in 30 seconds.”

Perhaps most damning is that this in no way felt like a nadir for Wirtz. He was terrible but that’s what we’ve come to expect from him in the Premier League. Maybe not for long.

Not because we expect an improvement – surely we’re past that? – but because Iraola can’t be watching Wirtz’s displays thinking he’s deserving of a place in the team over Ryan Gravenberch. He should be below Trey Nyoni in the pecking order after the academy graduate’s wonderfully mature performance to see the game out having replaced him from the bench.

There’s pressure to play big-money signings and there will have been hope that Wirtz’s biggest problem was being managed by Arne Slot and a significant uptick would arrive under Iraola.

But if anything, Wirtz looks worse, and as pundits and fans have tried to unpick the issues at Liverpool and what has made them such a listless team since the start of last season, it’s got to be worth dropping the common factor in that demise.

You won’t find prefaces or caveats here. Florian Wirtz has been terrible for Liverpool, shows no sign of improvement and should be nowhere near Iraola’s best XI.