Florian Wirtz: Should Liverpool Drop the Germany Playmaker?
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Liverpool: Wirtz's Struggle and the Cherki Conundrum
Image source: Getty Images
Image caption: Rayan Cherki (right) has outshone his Liverpool teammate Florian Wirtz (left) since joining the Premier League.
By Aadam Patel, Football Reporter in Linz
Published 14 minutes ago
At the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot flew to the south of France to finalize talks with Rayan Cherki. Cherki was among Liverpool's top attacking midfielder targets, but their main focus was on Florian Wirtz, who also attracted interest from Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
Once Wirtz expressed his desire to join Anfield, a £116m deal became inevitable.
A year on, however, Wirtz's impact at Liverpool remains underwhelming.
While Wirtz has scored 7 goals and provided 11 assists in 56 appearances, he has no goal involvements against the Premier League's top 10 teams. This season, he has started every league and Champions League game, but has only recorded one assist in 7 matches.
Manchester City's 3-0 win at Anfield on Sunday highlighted Wirtz's struggles, as new Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola substituted him for Trey Nyoni in the 66th minute, shortly after Ryan Gravenberch was sent off.
Cherki, who joined City from Lyon for £30m in June 2025, has been more impactful, scoring 16 goals and assisting 18 times in 65 appearances.
"Wirtz has so much ability," said former Liverpool defender Steven Warnock on BBC Radio 5 Live. "...he just glides. But he doesn't hurt teams. He drifts in and out of games, and you think where is he now?"
After Liverpool's defeat to City, Jamie Carragher argued that Iraola should drop Wirtz from the team.
"I think he needs to come out of the team," Carragher told Sky Sports. "...[he] isn't giving you anything defensively or going the other way. We need more and we can't wait."