Florian Wirtz Faces Make-or-Break Season at Liverpool

Jamie Carragher casts doubt on Florian Wirtz’s Premier League future, warning that Liverpool’s £115m midfielder faces a “make-or-break season” at Anfield.

The former Liverpool defender, writing in his Telegraph column, questioned whether the German playmaker has the physical profile to ever dominate English football in the way many at the club expected when he arrived from Bayer Leverkusen last summer.

Carragher: ‘The jury is out’

“The jury is out on whether he possesses the tools to overcome the physical challenge. I must admit, I have my doubts,” Carragher wrote, laying bare his concerns after a difficult first campaign for Wirtz.

Liverpool’s record signing walked into a club still clinging to its title-winner identity, but the season quickly unravelled. Arne Slot’s reign deteriorated, the title defence collapsed, and by the end of the campaign the Dutchman was gone. Wirtz, caught in the middle of that chaos, never truly settled.

There were glimpses. Neat touches, clever combinations, moments where his vision hinted at the player who lit up the Bundesliga. But that was all they were – moments. He never put together a sustained run of form as Liverpool slid to a fifth-placed finish, 25 points adrift of champions Arsenal.

Not De Bruyne, not yet

When Wirtz signed, the hope inside Anfield was bold: that he could become Liverpool’s answer to Kevin De Bruyne, the kind of midfielder who bends games to his will. Carragher doesn’t see that version of Wirtz – not on current evidence.

“When he joined Liverpool, the hope at Anfield was that Wirtz would dominate in the same manner as Kevin De Bruyne did. But the German does not have the athleticism or running and shooting power of De Bruyne,” he wrote.

That comparison cuts to the heart of the debate. De Bruyne overwhelms teams with his stride, his power, his ability to explode into space and punish from distance. Wirtz, by contrast, has so far looked more like a tidy facilitator than a ruthless finisher.

“Even at his best, Wirtz has looked ‘neat and tidy’ rather than the killer in and around the penalty box one would have expected given his fee and reputation,” Carragher added. “He has resembled a useful squad addition for about £40m rather than a game-changer who cost £115m.”

That fee now hangs over him. Every sideways pass, every game where he drifts to the margins, sharpens the scrutiny.

Wrong role, wrong time?

Those close to Wirtz point to a familiar explanation: some foreign players simply need a year to adjust to the pace and physicality of English football. Carragher acknowledged that argument, but he also highlighted the tactical complications that could again work against the 21-year-old.

Last season, as Liverpool’s defensive structure faltered, Slot abandoned his early attacking ideals. The shift had consequences for Wirtz. Instead of operating as a central attacking midfielder – the role in which he thrived in Germany – he found himself shunted to the left wing, or out of the XI altogether.

“If Wirtz does not have the desired impact in the early games this season, it is not difficult to foresee history repeating itself and Iraola realising he must compromise attacking romanticism for pragmatism,” Carragher warned, drawing a direct line between Slot’s late-season compromises and what could lie ahead.

New manager Andoni Iraola prefers out-and-out wingers in his system. That tactical detail looms large over Wirtz’s future.

“Given Iraola sets up his side with out-and-out wingers, such circumstances would raise serious doubts about Wirtz’s future,” Carragher wrote. If Liverpool again need to tighten up, the No.10-style creator could be the first casualty of a more functional approach.

An expensive window that never ignited

Wirtz arrived as part of what looked, on paper, like a transformative summer. Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong all came through the door as Liverpool tried to refresh a title-winning core.

Only Ekitike truly imposed himself. The rest, Wirtz included, became symbols of a window that promised evolution but delivered inconsistency and frustration. By the time Arsenal were crowned champions, Liverpool were a distant speck in the rear-view mirror.

Now the reset begins again under Iraola, and Wirtz stands at the centre of the question: is he the player Liverpool thought they were buying, or a luxury they can no longer afford?

A defining start at St James’ Park

The answers will start to come quickly. Liverpool open their 2026/27 Premier League campaign away to Newcastle at St James’ Park on Sunday, 23 August, at 4.30pm.

Hostile crowd. High tempo. Physical duels all over the pitch.

If Wirtz wants to change the narrative, there are few tougher, clearer stages on which to prove that he really does have the tools to survive – and thrive – in this league.