'Wirtz needs to show he is part of the remedy'
'Wirtz needs to show he is part of the remedy'
Pat Nevin - Former footballer and presenterWed, October 14, 2026 at 3:12 PM UTC
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Mitch from Canada asked:Pat – with your eye for a player – do you think Florian Wirtz will come good at Liverpool? And if they hadn't spent so much on him, would he still be in the 11?
Pat: All the stats suggested Wirtz was likely to be a success when he left the Bundesliga to join Liverpool. It isn't just the data experts who thought he was likely to be a revelation, most ex-players could see the technical ability and were suitably impressed. I include myself in that group.
In answer to your question, if Liverpool had everyone fit, he wouldn't be close to starting for the first team at the moment, he just hasn't had a profound impact often enough. It doesn't help that he is, in some people's eyes, trying to replace Mo Salah which, although an impossible job, he hasn't even come even vaguely close to achieving.
So, what has gone wrong, because it certainly hasn't all gone right. Sometimes it takes a while to fit into a new team style, tactical system, the pace of a new league, new surroundings, and different team-mates who have different skills and who do not initially understand your skill set perfectly.
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The problem is that showing such mercy can only last a season at most. After that, it very quickly becomes time to worry if it is ever going to work to the level it was expected and sounds more like excuses than reasons.
Liverpool haven't been at their best for some time and that hasn't helped either, especially with the injuries to the other forwards and the lack of investment at the back. There hasn't been a set specialist right full-back for him to work with since he arrived, which doesn't help when he is on that side of the field.
Even so, Florian has to show he is part of the remedy and not part of the cause of Liverpool's ills.
Big transfer fee or not, if you do not deliver in goals and assists as a forward at Liverpool, your days will be numbered.
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Source: “AOL Sports”
