Is Florian Wirtz Offering Liverpool Enough?

BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 20: Florian Wirtz of Liverpool during the Premier League 2026/27 match between AFC Bournemouth and Liverpool FC at Vitality Stadium on September 20, 2026 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)

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Liverpool signed Florian Wirtz to be a match-winner. Bought for $156m from Bayer Leverkusen, the Anfield club pulled off a coup by landing a player wanted by Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Real Madrid in the summer of 2025. Wirtz was expected to immediately become a key figure for the Reds.

So far, though, Wirtz has been a disappointment as a Liverpool player. The German international has registered only one assist in five Premier League games this season after an inconsistent debut season. Liverpool is entitled to expect more from one of its most expensive players ever.

Andoni Iraola has defended Wirtz, highlighting how his contribution shouldn’t be measured through statistics alone. The new Liverpool manager clearly values the German for all that he offers on both sides of the ball, arguing that fans and experts should look at all aspects of his game.

“Whether a striker scores a lot of goals or he doesn’t, you have to look at the performances. Does he help us to play well? Yes. Well, someone will score the goals and someone will give the assists. I am not too focused on numbers,” said Iraola when asked about Wirtz’s recent performances for Liverpool.

“Nowadays everything is about numbers, everyone tells players you have to assist, you have to score goals. For me, you have to help us play well. Someone will score the goals and I don’t care if it is the midfielders like it was the other day. Someone will score the goals if we are doing well collectively.”

The problem with Iraola’s argument is that Liverpool isn’t doing well collectively. Two wins from five games has the Anfield side sitting a lowly sixth in the Premier League table with Wirtz underwhelming in more than one match. The German isn’t doing enough to push Liverpool up the table.

Iraola’s Liverpool as a whole is a work in progress. The Spaniard is reshaping the team in his own image with the new manager still working out which players offer him which qualities, especially in the final third of the field where Alexander Isak, Bradley Barcola and Cody Gakpo are building chemistry together.

It’s too early for Wirtz to be written off as a Liverpool player. The Anfield club invested a lot of money in the German playmaker who has shown glimpses of his quality in the Premier League. To live up to his price tag, though, Wirtz must find a way to be more impactful on a more regular basis.