When Liverpool signed Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen final summer time, English soccer was fast to react. There was a palpable collective shock from their Premier League rivals. Among the best younger footballers on the earth was set to hitch a crew that was already on target for the 2024-2025 title.
Regardless of the £100m charge (rising to £116m with add-ons), few apart from rival supporters and people unaware of Wirtz’s Bundesliga exploits questioned the funding.
It has taken for much longer than many anticipated, however Werts’ current kind strongly means that the participant anticipated to be a part of Liverpool’s subsequent period is lastly settling into his position.
There was some curiosity about how he would match into Arne Slott’s system, however he rapidly confirmed indicators of promise, registering an help 4 minutes into his aggressive debut. Fellow newcomer Hugo Ekitike scored with a deft cross within the Neighborhood Protect match towards Crystal Palace at Wembley.
But, regardless of Liverpool beginning their Premier League title protection with 5 consecutive wins, their performances have been unconvincing, and that additionally utilized to Wertz. His expertise was evident in scattered moments, however he typically regarded bodily overwhelmed, often made poor choices and struggled to kind the instinctive connection along with his teammates that had characterised his time in Leverkusen.
In Germany, Wirtz reached double digits in each targets and assists in consecutive seasons. Nonetheless, regardless of profitable the match early on, Liverpool failed to attain or help in any league matches past the early moments of the Neighborhood Protect. Then got here the collective recession.
Liverpool suffered a crushing defeat, with 9 losses and solely three wins in 12 aggressive matches. Wirtz shone in Champions League video games towards Eintracht Frankfurt and Actual Madrid, registering two assists towards Frankfurt, however the truth that each have been excellent performances towards opposition from exterior England solely strengthened the argument that he would discover it tough to adapt to the depth of the Premier League.
With excessive switch charges and a stellar popularity, criticism inevitably adopted. Pundits and rival supporters seized the chance to model him “too gentle”, “too exaggerated” and “unsuited for English soccer”.
However Slott made it clear from the start that bodily conditioning was important. The supervisor revealed the reality when Wirtz left the pitch showing injured in a 1-0 win towards Arsenal in August. “It wasn’t an harm in any respect.”
“I do not suppose he knew so many locations might cramp after 85 minutes,” Slott joked, describing it as a typical Premier League “welcome”. He emphasised that even extremely proficient younger gamers from abroad take time to adapt to the bodily calls for of the league. Mr. Wirtz was engaged on it.
I stored ready for Liverpool’s first purpose. On 1 December and towards Nordi Mukiele in a draw at Anfield, he momentarily thought the sport was over when his shot deflected off track towards Sunderland, however replays confirmed the shot had gone vast. It was dominated an personal purpose.
Indicators of momentum got here 10 days later towards Brighton. Within the 2–0 win at dwelling, Werts received possession 9 instances, three greater than any teammate and essentially the most he has produced in a Liverpool shirt. And within the build-up to subsequent week’s video games towards Liverpool and Tottenham, the statistics advised a distinct story. He created 25 possibilities within the Premier League, not less than seven greater than any participant who did not but have an help within the 2025-26 season. The issue wasn’t creativity, it was ending from teammates.
An ideal instance occurred at Stamford Bridge in December. Wirtz got here off the bench within the 2-1 defeat to Chelsea and created an unimaginable reverse contact with the within of his left foot to arrange Mohamed Salah. It could have been a sensational help if Salah hadn’t fired vast.
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Nonetheless, his breakthrough lastly got here towards Spurs. After profitable the ball, Liverpool hit again and Wirtz cut up the protection with a wonderfully weighted cross, feeding it to Alexander Isak (one other big-money participant nonetheless discovering his footing) who slotted dwelling to offer Liverpool the lead. Sadly, Isak’s momentum was rapidly halted when Micky van de Ven broke his leg whereas attempting to dam a shot. In the meantime, Wirtz moved ahead with rising confidence.
The Tottenham match marked one other milestone. It was the primary time he had over 100 touches in a Premier League match (105 touches). He repeated this feat within the subsequent sport towards Wolves (106 factors), the place he lastly scored his first league purpose. Shortly after Ryan Gravenbirch’s opening purpose, Ekitike slipped previous Wirtz into the center and calmly slotted the ball previous Jose Sa. His celebration was met with aid, and the reactions of his teammates made it clear how a lot this second meant.
Remarkably, his first purpose got here on his twenty first shot within the league this season. Solely Bournemouth’s David Brooks, 28, and Liverpool teammate Alexis Mac Allister, 22, made extra makes an attempt and didn’t rating.
Ekitike’s help was one among six targets each gamers have mixed for this season. In actual fact, Wirtz and Ekitike have been concerned in additional targets collectively than some other Premier League pair in 2025-26, with every participant helping the opposite three.
His bodily adaptation was additionally mirrored in his numbers. Wirtz appeared in 15 video games towards the Timberwolves, profitable 11 instances. Each are private bests and present how a lot he has turn out to be accustomed to the tempo and physicality of the league.
As soon as he broke his duck, the targets began flowing. He scored once more within the 2–2 draw towards Fulham, and once more in a 1–1 away match towards Burnley in early January. Nevertheless it was his efficiency in Liverpool’s 4-1 win over Newcastle United that actually modified the general public’s notion. He recorded a purpose and an help with simply 52 touches, exhibiting he can affect the sport with out dominating the ball.
His sensible footwork minimize by means of the Newcastle protection within the first half and led to Ekitike’s equalizer at Anfield. On the finish of the second half, he scored the decisive two targets for Liverpool with a exact and calm shot into the underside left nook following a cross from Salah.
After scoring no targets and making simply three assists in his first 21 video games for Liverpool, Wirtz exploded for 9 factors (six targets, three assists) in his ultimate 11 video games. Since his comeback towards Tottenham on December 20, no participant has contributed extra targets in all competitions within the Premier League.
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So what has modified?
One of many large adjustments is the quantity of involvement. Final season with Leverkusen, Wirtz averaged 83.6 touches per 90 minutes. In his first 20 video games for Liverpool, that determine dropped to only 63.9. Over the previous 12 years, that has skyrocketed to 81.9, about the identical as his affect within the Bundesliga.
His variety of touches contained in the opposition field has additionally elevated from 5.0 per 90 in his early years with Liverpool to 7.6 lately. Evaluating the contact maps, we are able to see that he now operates extra ceaselessly within the areas simply exterior the field, particularly on the left aspect, an space he used ceaselessly at Leverkusen. As a consequence of Kodi Gakpo’s harm, Wirtz was often deployed on the left wing, which appeared to carry out his finest.
His bodily adjustments additionally helped. He has clearly gained energy and his duel win fee displays this, rising from 36.2% within the first 20 video games to 45.5% within the final 12, even increased than Leverkusen’s success fee within the 2023-24 season.
Curiously, though the variety of possibilities he creates has decreased (2.2 per 90 vs. 2.8 beforehand), the standard of these possibilities has improved. Anticipated assists per 90 jumped from 0.25 to 0.39. He is producing much less ceaselessly, however that is making it extra harmful. This possible displays a deeper understanding along with his teammates and extra intentional timing within the ultimate third.
In a current interview with the BBC, Wirtz admitted he needed to adapt to the Premier League rapidly. “I needed it to achieve success immediately,” he says. “However I needed to hold myself sturdy as a result of one thing like this did not occur.” He added that he reminded himself that he hadn’t forgotten methods to play soccer and that soccer in England wasn’t fully international to him, including that he believes the individuals round him supported him.
One in all his lowest moments was the 3-0 defeat towards Manchester Metropolis in November. In that sport, he tried simply 24 passes in 83 minutes, the fewest of any league starter for Liverpool, and though he had two pictures on course, he didn’t create any possibilities. With Metropolis visiting Anfield on Sunday, Wirtz couldn’t have come at a greater time to indicate how far he has come.
He has scored in 5 of his final six dwelling video games and the stage is about for him to definitively present he has arrived as Metropolis’s defensive fragility turns into more and more obvious.
Slott praised Wirtz’s growth Thursday, highlighting his bodily and off-ball enchancment whereas saying his technical potential was by no means doubtful. On the identical day, Wirtz was nominated for January’s Premier League Participant of the Month award.
Contemplating his big price ticket, it is easy to neglect that he is solely 22 years outdated and has a few years of growth forward of him. It is too early to declare him a particular Liverpool celebrity, however the optimism surrounding his trajectory is way better than it was at the beginning of the season.
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