In 2022, off the back of a domestic cup double, Jurgen Klopps Liverpool signed a record-breaking attacker who kick-started his career with a goal contribution in the Community Shield final.
Liverpool, who had reached the Champions League final and finished just a point behind title winners Manchester City the season prior, would go on to have a trophyless campaign, with that same forwards attacking output being questioned for the majority of it.
History is repeating for Florian Wirtz and Liverpool
Liverpool, in all of their woes, will likely suffer the same fate as their 2022/23 side. And if Florian Wirtz doesnt find the means to recover what once made him one of the best attacking midfielders in the world, the possibility looms that the Reds latest record-breaking signing may face the same fate as Darwen Nez, who the club shipped to Saudi in the summer just gone.
Julian Nagelsmann doesnt seem to think so, telling reporters on Monday that Liverpool could help [Wirtz] out by scoring some of the chances he creates. This exact sentiment also prevails within the Liverpool fanbase, as other players are tied to the whipping post for the teams poor form before the German midfielder himself.
A brief look at Florian Wirtzs domestic statistics tells a vastly different story. The German has registered just 1 big chance created in 11 Premier League games this season for the Reds (data via Opta). And watching Wirtz play paints the same picture; it has become far too common to see the German being bounced off the ball with ease, losing steam after a successful duel and fluffing the through ball to his runners.
The issue that Wirtz is facing is a tale as old as time - its his lack of an imposing physicality that has made the Germans start to life at Liverpool so difficult. Wirtz is not afforded the same luxuries as he once was at Bayer Leverkusen, with his new league being far more physically demanding and sapping the energy hes used to keeping in reserve to function as one of Europes most prolific attackers.
In the 2024/25 Bundesliga season, Wirtz won 45 per cent of his total duels, a figure that has dropped to just 35 per cent so far for the Reds. That statistic is made worse by Wirtz averaging 5.2 duels won per game in 2024/25, compared to just 2.5 in the Premier League this season. Finally, its completed by the German being dribbled past per game more than twice as frequently as he was for Leverkusen the season prior (data via Opta).
Not only is Wirtz winning physical battles less often for Liverpool, hes also fighting for less duels and being bypassed more frequently.
A closer look at Wirtzs output in 2024/25 also tells us that perhaps Liverpool should have seen this coming. Of the eight Champions League matches the midfielder played in last season, he registered goal contributions in four, against Feyenoord, Brest, Red Bull Salzburg and Sparta Praha. The four he blanked in? Liverpool, Milan, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid.
If Wirtz is to improve, which he must, the key lies in developing a better physicality and increasing his energy supply. In a team renowned for its workhorse midfield, the German will see a marked increase in his attacking output only when he develops a taste for the speed, intensity and physicality that Premier League sides and European elite are known for.
Then, when the time comes to take a pop or deliver a peach for his runners, Wirtz will be far more likely to have the physical and mental clarity to execute it effectively. Yes, Liverpool are suffering. But there is a considerable push from within the fanbase to scapegoat everyone except Wirtz for the teams poor form this season, which couldnt be further from the truth. Florian Wirtz is the key to unlocking too many players in the Reds frontline for his personal development to be anything less than absolutely crucial for Arne Slot to focus on, and ignoring the problem will only stop that from happening.
Julian Nagelsmann is right, perhaps Mohamed Salah could have converted that singular big chance created from the German against Chelsea last month. Maybe it would have been the confidence booster that the Reds fanbase believes it will be, when that first domestic goal contribution comes. Or maybe it would have just been paper over the cracks.
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