Florian Wirtz's Struggles at Liverpool: Robert Huth's Concerns

Robert Huth does not see a happy ending coming for Florian Wirtz at Liverpool.

"I really find it hard to see how this can still turn around," said the former Premier League defender on All Out Football's podcast In The Mixer, delivering a blunt verdict on the 23-year-old’s situation at Anfield.

Huth, who knows the league as well as anyone after 322 appearances in England and a title-winning season with Leicester City in 2016, questioned whether Wirtz is built for the intensity of English football. For him, the issue is not talent.

Wirtz is "obviously a good player," Huth acknowledged, before driving at the real concern: the physical step up. "He has real problems with his physicality," said the 42-year-old, who won 19 caps for Germany and played at the 2006 World Cup on home soil.

Liverpool have gone all-in on Wirtz. In 2025 they paid a hefty base fee of 125 million euros to Bayer Leverkusen to bring the playmaker to Merseyside, banking on him to be the next creative heartbeat of the side. His first season, though, never fully caught fire. There were flashes, moments that hinted at his ceiling, but not the sustained impact expected of a nine-figure signing.

Now a new chapter has begun under coach Andoni Iraola, and Liverpool hope year two will be different – the season of his definitive breakthrough rather than another campaign of questions.

Wirtz, for his part, rejects the idea that he is out of his depth.

"I would say that I have developed in almost every area. Definitely when it comes to my physical level," he told RTL and Sky in a recent interview, pushing back against Huth’s assessment and similar criticism. The German international painted a picture of a daily grind at Kirkby.

"Even in training, I have to push myself almost to my limits every day, simply because there are players here who are also fully committed in training every day and have that kind of quality. You also have to be at a good level yourself," he explained.

Huth remains unconvinced. The former centre-back turned pundit zoomed in on Wirtz’s performance in Liverpool’s opening Premier League game of the season, a 2-2 draw away at Newcastle United, and did not like what he saw.

"His body language is also a bit poor," Huth said, criticising not just the physical duels but the way Wirtz carried himself on the pitch. For Huth, this is not a slump that will correct itself with time and patience. He doubts a turnaround is close at hand and went as far as to float the idea of an early exit.

"By Christmas they will probably look to move him on if he does not improve, because he has become an expensive problem for Liverpool," he warned.

The fee is fixed. The scrutiny is growing. And with Iraola reshaping Liverpool’s attack, Wirtz now faces a brutal reality: either he proves Huth wrong quickly, or the club may decide this bold bet was a mistake.