Jamie Carragher did not bother softening the blow.
As Liverpool edged past Bournemouth 1-0 at the Vitality Stadium, the former Reds defender used his Sky Sports microphone to deliver one of the most scathing assessments Florian Wirtz has heard since arriving at Anfield.
“Wirtz has been really poor again,” Carragher said during the first half. “It's just nothing. Nothing is happening there at all.”
The performance barely improved, and Carragher’s verdict only hardened once the final whistle went.
“That was one of the poorest I've ever seen him in a Liverpool shirt,” he said on the Jamie Carragher Podcast. For a player signed to shift Liverpool’s ceiling, this was the kind of night that makes people question the entire project.
What we’re seeing is what he is
Carragher’s criticism went far beyond one bad afternoon on the south coast. He framed it as part of a longer, more worrying pattern.
“I've been critical of the fact that he hasn't got the numbers,” he admitted. “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.”
Then came the line that will sting most inside Anfield.
“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.”
Carragher revealed those doubts have been simmering for a year.
“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.
“In some way, the price tag for that type of player should be half of what Liverpool have paid.”
Neat and tidy. For a £100m-plus signing expected to drag Liverpool into title races and deep Champions League runs, that phrase lands like a verdict.
Expectations vs reality
The heart of Carragher’s argument is about the gap between the player Liverpool thought they were buying and the one they are watching now.
“The worry for Wirtz now is that his performances so far, or what he's given Liverpool, is so low,” he said. “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.”
Then there is the tactical knock-on.
When Wirtz starts as a No 10, Dominik Szoboszlai is shunted into a deeper midfield role Carragher simply does not believe suits him.
“When he plays at No 10, it means Dominik Szoboszlai has to play central midfield. I don't think Szoboszlai is a central-midfield player, I don't.”
So the issue, in Carragher’s eyes, is not just that Wirtz is underwhelming. It’s that his presence distorts the balance of the side and diminishes others.
He can’t be in the team vs City
Liverpool now stare at a defining spell of the season. After a three-week international break, Enzo Maresca’s Manchester City arrive at Anfield on October 11. Around that, there are Premier League meetings with Brentford, Brighton and Arsenal, plus Champions League ties against LASK and Villarreal and a Carabao Cup fourth-round clash with Chelsea.
Carragher is clear: Wirtz should not be on the pitch when City walk out.
“I think going forward Iraola's got a decision to make here. Wirtz would not be in my Liverpool team,” he said.
He viewed the Bournemouth game as a personal fork in the road for the German.
“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!”
Carragher then widened the lens. Forget the elite clubs for a moment. How does Wirtz compare to ordinary Premier League creators?
“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.”
The conclusion was brutal and unambiguous.
“Wirtz wouldn't be in my Liverpool team. Manchester City at home, for me, he can't be in the team.”
Iraola’s courage and the looming call
If there is one thing Carragher likes about Andoni Iraola so far, it is that the Liverpool manager has shown he is not afraid to make big calls.
“The things I've liked so far about Iraola, he's had the courage to make big decisions,” Carragher said.
“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.”
For Carragher, Wirtz has to be next.
“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.”
That line matters. This is not a pundit writing off a young player for effect. It is a club legend saying the team must come before the transfer fee, the hype, or the long-term plan.
Klopp, Germany and a last route back
If there is a lifeline in all of this, Carragher believes it comes from a familiar figure.
Jurgen Klopp, now in charge of Germany, has called Wirtz into one of his two Nations League squads. The midfielder will rest initially, then be in contention for Germany’s final two games of the window against Serbia and Greece.
“The one hope for Liverpool supporters now is Jurgen Klopp is the Germany manager,” Carragher said.
“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.”
Carragher even sketched out the ideal redemption arc.
“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.”
For now, though, the reality is harsher. A marquee signing is under heavy scrutiny, a manager is being pushed towards a ruthless decision, and a fanbase is waiting to see whether a three-week international break can rescue a career that was supposed to redefine Liverpool’s future.
The next time Florian Wirtz walks out at Anfield, will it be as the player Liverpool thought they were signing – or as the problem Carragher insists they can no longer ignore?
