Jamie Carragher's Harsh Verdict on Florian Wirtz's Liverpool Performance

Jamie Carragher did not bother dressing it up. For him, this was Florian Wirtz’s nadir in a Liverpool shirt.

Across Liverpool’s scrappy 1-0 win at Bournemouth, Carragher’s frustration crackled through the Sky Sports microphone. Watching from the gantry at the Vitality Stadium, he cut straight to the point.

“Wirtz has been really poor again,” he said during the first half. “It's just nothing. Nothing is happening there at all.”

By full-time, his view hadn’t softened. If anything, it hardened.

“That was one of the poorest I've ever seen him in a Liverpool shirt,” Carragher said on the bonus Jamie Carragher Podcast. This wasn’t framed as a blip. It sounded like a verdict.

‘What we’re seeing is what he is’

Carragher has long questioned Wirtz’s output. The numbers, he argued, have never matched the hype. But even when he was critical before, there were redeeming features.

“Normally when you watch Wirtz, he's neat and tidy, he keeps possession, there's things that you like,” he said. “He gets out of a tight situation where you're normally expecting your player to lose the ball.”

Against Bournemouth, even that disappeared. The neatness, the press resistance, the little flourishes that usually earn a second look – gone.

That’s what alarms Carragher.

“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.”

He admitted the doubts have been there for a while, buried in the back of his mind for about a year. A trip to Burnley, a late Mo Salah penalty, and a familiar pattern.

“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.”

Neat and tidy is not what Liverpool thought they were buying for over £100m. Not for a player signed to tilt title races and Champions League campaigns.

“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.”

The knock-on effect – and a selection problem

Carragher’s criticism didn’t stop at Wirtz’s individual level. He went straight to the tactical consequences.

“When Wirtz plays as a No 10, Dominik Szoboszlai gets pushed deeper. Carragher hates that idea.”

“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.”

In his eyes, Wirtz isn’t just underperforming. He’s dragging the structure with him.

And that leads to the big call facing Andoni Iraola.

‘He can’t be in the team vs Man City’

Liverpool’s schedule after the three-week international break is brutal. It restarts with Enzo Maresca’s Manchester City coming to Anfield on October 11. Brentford and Brighton follow in the league. Arsenal await at the Emirates on October 1. LASK and Villarreal lie ahead in the Champions League. Chelsea in the Carabao Cup.

In that context, Carragher’s line is clear. Ruthless, even.

“I think going forward Iraola's got a decision to make here. Wirtz would not be in my Liverpool team,” he said.

He felt Bournemouth away was a crossroads for the midfielder.

“I thought this Bournemouth game was a big game for Wirtz. Because if he doesn't produce, 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!”

The problem, as Carragher sees it, is that players with far less fanfare are delivering more.

He namechecked 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.”

He pointed to Morgan Gibbs-White’s second-half display for Nottingham Forest at Aston Villa.

“In the second half he put in a performance in 45 minutes that Florian Wirtz has never done before for Liverpool.”

Emiliano Buendia at Aston Villa, too. Not £100m-plus players, not global superstars, but contributors.

“These players aren't going to get over £100m, or £120m, but they're still giving their clubs bits every few weeks.”

And then came the line that will sting around Anfield.

“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 next big call

Carragher actually admires Iraola’s readiness to cut through status and salary.

“The things I've liked so far about Iraola, he's had the courage to make big decisions,” he said.

Ryan Gravenberch has just signed a hefty five-year deal on big money. He was supposed to be part of the midfield’s future with Szoboszlai. He’s not playing.

“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.”

At full-back, Iraola has chopped and changed. Jeremie Frimpong has been dropped. Milos Kerkez has been in and out. No sacred cows.

“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.”

Klopp, Germany and one last hope

For all the criticism, Carragher does see a possible escape route for Wirtz – and it runs through Jurgen Klopp.

The former Liverpool manager, now in charge of Germany, has called Wirtz into one of his two Nations League squads. The midfielder will rest first, then be in contention for the final two games 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?”

Carragher trusts Klopp’s touch with players.

“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 is, in Carragher’s mind, a very clear scenario.

“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.”

The judgment has been harsh. The expectation remains sky-high. Now the question hangs over Wirtz: does he shrink under it, or walk back into Anfield from Germany looking like the player Liverpool thought they were buying?