Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola has been urged to make a decision on dropping Florian Wirtz by Jamie Carragher, who described the Germany forward’s performance against Bournemouth as his poorest for the club.
Wirtz has struggled to live up to the hype following his £100million move from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, with his displays attracting consistent criticism.
The 23-year-old has seven goals and nine assists in 55 games for the Reds, his only official goal involvement this season coming in a 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest.
Per FotMob, Wirtz created three chances in Sunday’s 1-0 win at Bournemouth, which was secured by a second-half strike by Alexander Isak.
Wirtz was a part of the build-up play for that goal as he failed to get on the end of Cody Gakpo’s right-wing cross to the near post before it was tucked home by Isak.
He is credited with nine chances created in the Premier League, with only Dominik Szobszlai and Gakpo ahead of him among Liverpool players in that regard.
But Carragher was far from impressed with Wirtz, and believes it is time for Iraola to seriously think about his position in the team.
“That was one of the poorest I’ve ever seen him in a Liverpool shirt,” Carragher said on ‘The Jamie Carragher podcast’.
“I’ve been critical of the fact that he hasn’t got the numbers. But normally when you watch Wirtz, he’s neat and tidy, he keeps possession, there’s things that you like. He gets out of a tight situation where you’re normally expecting your player to lose the ball.
“But the reason I worry is, I don’t think Wirtz is in poor form since he came to Liverpool. I actually think what we’re seeing is what he is.
“And I was worried for Wirtz probably 12 months ago. And maybe that was a little bit early to say that, but I didn’t say it. It was just in the back of my head.
“I commentated on Liverpool away at Burnley and Liverpool won with a late penalty from Mo Salah. And when I was watching that game it was what I’ve seen for the last 12 months: I don’t see how he’s going to hurt you. It’s just neat and tidy. And in some way, the price tag for that type of player should be half of what Liverpool have paid.
“The worry for Wirtz now is that his performances so far, or what he’s given Liverpool, is so low. Where we were expecting him was to take Liverpool to another league title, to take Liverpool to a Champions League.
“The gap he’s got to get to almost justify what people were expecting, I almost think is too big. You can’t get there. Even if he improves a bit and gets there, it’s still not what Liverpool thought they were getting.”
Carragher: Iraola has a decision to make
Carragher went on to make a series of damning comparisons to similar players at other clubs, with the former Liverpool centre-back adamant Wirtz is not playing at a high enough level to justify selection when they face Manchester City on October 11 after the three-week international break.
“I think going forward Iraola’s got a decision to make here. Wirtz would not be in my Liverpool team,” added Carragher.
“I thought this Bournemouth game was a big game for Wirtz. Because if he doesn’t produce [against Bournemouth], he’s then going to have a three-week break. By the time we come back, we’re into October. Before you know it, it’ll be Christmas in six to eight weeks, or it’ll feel like we’re getting to Christmas. He has to do something!
“If you go through the Premier League and think of players in his position – not just for the top teams, forget the top teams who we should be judging him against, I’m talking about normal Premier League players in the middle of the table – who have done more for their clubs.
“I think of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall at Everton. No one out there would say Dewsbury-Hall is a better player than Wirtz, or would go for more money than Wirtz, or would cost £120m. But every three or four weeks he scores a goal.
“I watched Morgan Gibbs-White for Nottingham Forest last week at Aston Villa, and in the second half he put in a performance in 45 minutes that Florian Wirtz has never done before for Liverpool.
“I’ve seen a goal Emiliano Buendia scored for Aston Villa at Tottenham. Again, these players aren’t going to get over £100m, or £120m, but they’re still giving their clubs bits every few weeks.
“Wirtz wouldn’t be in my Liverpool team. Manchester City at home, for me, he can’t be in the team.”
Carragher has been impressed with the ruthlessness Iraola has shown in his brief tenure at Liverpool in dropping other big-name players, and indicated he wants him to replicate that with Wirtz.
“The things I’ve liked so far about Iraola, he’s had the courage to make big decisions,” Carragher explained. “Ryan Gravenberch has just signed a hefty contract on a five-year deal on massive money, because they thought him and Szoboszlai were going to be the future of the midfield going forward. He’s not playing.
“Now, I can imagine the guys at the top of the club looking at that, thinking we’ve just given him a hefty contract. But no, he’s not playing.
“The full-back situation, he keeps changing the full-backs, he’s dropped Jeremie Frimpong straight away. Milos Kerkez has been in and out. So he’s made decisions.
“But sooner or later he’s going to have to make a decision on Florian Wirtz, and, for me, I hope it’s sooner. Not because I don’t like Florian Wirtz, I’m desperate for the kid to do well. I just want Liverpool to win. That’s it, basically.”
Can Klopp sprinkle stardust on Wirtz?
However, Carragher sees potential salvation for Wirtz during the international window, when he will work with former Liverpool boss and new Germany coach Jurgen Klopp.
“The one hope for Liverpool supporters now is Jurgen Klopp is the Germany manager,” said Carragher.
“Wirtz goes away with the Germany team for three weeks, and he’s obviously one of the best players in Germany, that’s how they see him. Can Jurgen Klopp sprinkle a bit of stardust on him in that position?
“Jurgen is one of the greatest managers in the world, we know that. And what he gets out of players is probably more than most managers because of the nature of his personality, and fingers crossed something can happen for him.
“There’s a scenario there that Jurgen Klopp and Germany have a great international window, he gets loads of goals, assists and comes back on a high. Manchester City’s the next game, he impacts that, all is forgotten, all is forgiven. There’s a potential turnaround there.
“I would love that to happen, I’d love him to be the match-winner against Manchester City.”
You Should Also Read
