Florian Wirtz's season has gone from bad to worse after another dismal performance for the Liverpool playmaker. The German was hooked midway through the weekend defeat to Manchester City, with yet more questions being thrown at the £125million signing.
It comes after a debut season in which Wirtz failed to leave a lasting impression, but given there were mitigating circumstances on and off the pitch for Liverpool, he was afforded plenty of grace. Patience is wearing thin though, with some Liverpool fans happy to cut their losses and let him leave the football club altogether.
Record Signing Under Scrutiny
Given the lengths Liverpool went to in order to secure Wirtz's signature, wiping their hands this early would be a monumental disaster. He was the club's record signing at the time of arrival, with the Reds having defeated the likes of Bayern Munich and Manchester City to bank his signature.
But even though the Liverpool manager has changed from Arne Slot to Andoni Iraola, Wirtz continues to look out of his depth in the Premier League. As such, if he were to depart at - let's say - the end of the current campaign, where would Wirtz rank among the Premier League's biggest-ever flops?
Carragher's Verdict
Among those criticising Wirtz is ex-Reds icon Jamie Carragher, who told Sky Sports: "I'm sorry to say this, Florian Wirtz, it's not working and it hasn't worked so far. I struggle to think of one game where he's won Liverpool the game, he's been the man if you like.
"He was bought in to be a star of the Premier League. I felt he could be the Kevin De Bruyne that City had, that I think at times got Man City over the line with Liverpool in league title runs. But I think you could make a case for there being 10 or 12 players in Liverpool's Premier League era in that position who have done more than Florian Wirtz."
He added: "It mystifies me watching him sometimes. His touch in a couple of important situations today really let him down. He does recognise it, because from where he came from he did score goals and he did assist, so he knows the importance of that.
"But does he really understand how important it is for him to go and score goals and assist goals? When you watch De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes, they're always trying to impact the game decisively in the final third with an assist or a goal.
"When I watch Wirtz, I always feel like I'm watching some form of rondo, some form of possession game that hasn't got goals. It's like 'come on, you've got to think about two things: assists and goals, and transfer everything towards that'."
