Exclusive: Former Liverpool Star Discusses Florian Wirtz’s Struggles

Florian Wirtz looked set to become the new face of the Premier League when he joined Liverpool for £116m last summer. That is how highly-rated the German midfielder was.

However, he has so far massively failed to live up to expectations. Of course some of the criticism is over the top, but that is the harsh reality of the situation.

Despite his struggles in his debut season, there was still lots of anticipation for the 23-year-old under new head coach Andoni Iraola. But after six appearances, he has just one goal involvement to his name.

Former Liverpool midfielder Don Hutchison spoke exclusively to Anfield Index, and shared his thoughts on Wirtz’s struggles…

Liverpool Need More From Wirtz

“I think everyone’s a little bit like, ‘What’s next?’ You’re going to have to stand up and perform now,” said Hutchison.

“The weird part is when I watch Florian Wirtz is he was brilliant against Atletico Madrid, amazing, and he was good in patches last season in the Champions League.”

“Then you go, the Premier League is a little bit more intense, but you can’t tell me that Fulham play a more intense game than Atletico Madrid! So why did you struggle against Fulham?”

“I’m scratching my head now. I think every Liverpool fan is. At some point now he’s got to start performing.”

Hutchison also compared Wirtz to some of the Premier League’s other attacking midfielders, which is where some more of the frustration lies.

“I watch the other number tens in the Premier League and I look at Martin Odegaard and go, ‘What an amazing player.’ There are number tens dotted up and down the country and you go, these guys are fantastic players.”

“But Florian Wirtz should be doing this because we know he has the talent. Why is he not doing it?”

How Can Liverpool Unlock Wirtz?

Hutchison believes the only remaining way to unleash the best version of Wirtz is to rebuild the midfield around him.

Liverpool have been desperate for a defensive midfielder since the departure of Fabinho back in 2023, but have failed to find a successor.

“I think the only thing left for Liverpool fans to latch onto is if they bought a real hard number six and can go ‘Right, all you flyers – Isak, Wirtz, Barcola, Rio, whoever it might be – you can all bomb forward, but we’re going to have at least one number six that is going to allow that to happen.”

“If it doesn’t work after that, I’m sorry, I’m not seeing it. I want to see it. My eyes want to see it. My eyes tell me when I watch him that tactically he’s very good, and when he comes deep he’s very good because he can handle the ball.”

“But he’s not affecting games, and as a number ten, you have to affect games of football.”