Florian Wirtz has “no future” at Liverpool FC: doubts over Germany star continue to grow

"I know how talented he is and what he is capable of, but I think he has lost all confidence and all belief in his abilities. I don’t think he believes he can succeed in the Premier League. I see no future for Wirtz at Liverpool," Hamann said in an interview with Givemesport.

In the former Germany international's view, the change from Arne Slot to Andoni Iraola has not brought the improvement he had hoped to see from Wirtz at Anfield. "His performances are no better than last season," Hamann said.

Wirtz had recently faced renewed criticism after the 3-0 thrashing in the top-of-the-table clash against Manchester City on 11 October. His goal contributions have fallen sharply since his €125 million move from Bayer Leverkusen to the Reds, and former players and television pundits were already taking aim at him during his debut season.

Will Florian Wirtz leave Liverpool after the season?

One of those critics is Jamie Carragher, who has urged the exceptional German player to leave on several occasions. He has done so again. "Liverpool will have to make a decision — perhaps not necessarily in the winter, but at the end of the season, when there is no major tournament and a free summer lies ahead. I think transfers can be completed much more quickly and easily then," Carragher suggested on Hamann & Stankovic, a Sky Sport Austria podcast.

The former Reds defender said he had seen "a lot of goodwill" towards Wirtz in Liverpool: "People really wanted him to succeed," stressed Carragher, who also said he had heard that the Germany international was "a great guy". But he simply "doesn’t score goals", and that matters in Iraola's system, where wide players get into shooting positions less often: "He never looks like he could score a goal in a game."

Across 58 competitive appearances, Wirtz has scored seven goals, a worrying tally by his standards. At Bayer Leverkusen, he scored 57 goals in 197 games and provided 65 assists. The 23-year-old did at least show improvement in the two matches after the Manchester City defeat.

Getty

Florian Wirtz linked with moves to Chelsea and Bayern Munich

Last weekend, Wirtz shone as the playmaker in the 2-1 win over Brentford. He set up Victor Munoz's temporary equaliser at 1-1 and created nine chances for Liverpool in total. According to Opta, no player has reached that figure in the Premier League for five years. Before that, he had also looked sharper in the Champions League 6-3 win over LASK, assisting Bradley Barcola's goal to make it 3-0.

Hamann also tempered his criticism of Wirtz on the podcast with Carragher, arguing that Liverpool's players made it difficult for him to perform at his best. He singled out Liverpool's weak full-backs. Wirtz has to do too much defensive work, Hamann said, when a player like him must be "afforded the luxury of being creative".

Continued criticism of Wirtz has fuelled transfer rumours. At times, reports have linked him with a move to Chelsea and his mentor Xabi Alonso. Others have suggested a return to the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich. The German record champions were determined to sign Wirtz in the summer of 2025 and even believed they had reached an agreement in negotiations with his father and adviser, Hans.

Instead, the attacking player chose to move to the Premier League with Liverpool. When honorary president Uli Hoeneß and supervisory board member Karl-Heinz Rummenigge heard the news, they reportedly "fell off their stools in shock", according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Getty Images

Florian Wirtz receives sympathy from Bayern Munich

In November last year, Wirtz even received an initial expression of sympathy from Hoeneß as the German struggled with major teething problems in England. "Poor Flo Wirtz," said Hoeneß, who then took aim at the Reds' extraordinary transfer spending. Liverpool had spent a total of almost €500 million on new players that summer. Alongside Wirtz, Alexander Isak (€145 million) and Hugo Ekitike (€95 million) also arrived. Results on the pitch remained modest.

"I’ve said it before: they’ll soon need five balls to play, because all the stars want one for themselves," Hoeneß mocked. "Poor Florian Wirtz, he simply doesn’t get the ball because Salah and Szoboszlai and all the others only want to play for themselves."

President Herbert Hainer also recently expressed sympathy for the German star amid the fierce criticism directed at him in recent weeks. "First of all, I think Florian Wirtz is an outstanding player, there’s no question about that," Hainer said, "and I almost feel a little sorry for him that he hasn’t yet shown the form in England that he had at Leverkusen, because we need him for the Germany national team too."

While he still does not seem to have truly settled at Liverpool, Wirtz used the international break to regain some confidence with an outstanding performance for Germany against Serbia.

Wirtz and the Reds now face Villarreal in the Champions League, a match they should be expected to win. Another top-of-the-table clash follows at the weekend, when Fabian Hürzeler brings his surprise Brighton side to Anfield. Brighton have won five of their first seven matches of the season and are currently the closest challengers to the leading pair of Manchester City and Arsenal.

Florian Wirtz: statistics at Bayer Leverkusen and Liverpool