Manchester City put three goals past Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, inflicting a 3-0 Premier League defeat that ended the home side's unbeaten start to the season — and setting off a pointed public debate over Florian Wirtz's place in the team.
Jamie Carragher, appearing on Sky Sports, was unsparing in his verdict on the 23-year-old German. "The Florian Wirtz where he's almost nailed on that he plays every week in that No. 10 position, it has to stop. I think Liverpool have given him enough chances and he has to come out of the team," Carragher said.
Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki were among the scorers for Enzo Maresca's side, with the game turning significantly when Ryan Gravenberch was dismissed just after the hour mark.
Wirtz was withdrawn in the 66th minute having recorded just 46 touches, completed 20 of 24 attempted passes, managed one shot off target and created no clear chances. He won only four duels across his time on the pitch.
The former Bayer Leverkusen midfielder arrived on Merseyside commanding a £116 million fee, yet he is still to register a Premier League goal this season, adding just one assist across six top-flight appearances. The campaign continues a pattern that stretched through his debut season in England, when many were prepared to make allowances for a player adjusting to a new league. That goodwill has since run thin.
Carragher pointed out that Wirtz has made 56 appearances for the club, a sample he considers more than sufficient to form a firm view. He went on to argue that with attackers such as Bradley Barcola, Victor Munoz and Lewis Koumas also in contention, the hierarchy within Liverpool's front line needs revisiting. Koumas and Munoz, Carragher said, offered more than Wirtz against City despite the German's considerable price tag.
The pundit also noted that Wirtz's recent outing for Germany under Jurgen Klopp, which included a goal against Serbia during the international break, only sharpened the contrast with his club form.
Carragher added that Wirtz never looks like scoring, elaborating that supporters leave his performances without the sense that he had troubled a goalkeeper or carved out a genuine opportunity. "Wirtz never looks like scoring a goal. You don't come away thinking he missed chances or he worked the goalkeeper," he said. "There was absolutely nothing today where you thought he put someone through, or nearly scored. There's absolutely no goal threat whatsoever."
Manager Andoni Iraola now faces a decision over whether to persist with Wirtz in the No.10 role he has occupied since joining the club. Liverpool had moved Dominik Szoboszlai into a deeper position to accommodate the German, but the arrangement has yet to produce the attacking dividend anticipated when the deal was struck last summer.
Meanwhile, transfer correspondent Graeme Bailey reported on 13 September that Bayern Munich have registered an interest in Wirtz, a development that may yet complicate the picture further as Iraola weighs his options.
Reporting: CaughtOffside, Mirror, TeamTalk, Daily Mail.