Florian Wirtz and Conor Bradley have now both received the same worrying criticism from pundits
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Liverpool face Nottingham Forest on Saturday, and Paul Merson has been less than kind about Florian Wirtz ahead of the fixture.The Reds go into the clash having lost five of their last six league ties, with Arsenal now favourites for the title ahead of Arne Slot’s men.After a tricky run of games, which most recently ended in a 3-0 defeat to Manchester City, Liverpool are expected to beat Nottingham Forest this weekend.Join our newsletter for news & smart analysis. However, while Paul Merson is among those backing a home win on November 22, his comments on Florian Wirtz ahead of the tie were concerning.Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty ImagesPaul Merson’s worrying Florian Wirtz verdict before Nottingham ForestWirtz has been a scapegoat for Liverpool’s poor start to the 2025/26 campaign on the back of his £100m-plus move.He has looked much better for Germany and though Merson remains a fan of the versatile midfielder, he claimed in his latest score predictions column for Sportskeeda that the 22-year-old ‘looked like he had never played football before’ against Man City.Merson predicted a 2-0 win for Liverpool and said: “Florian Wirtz looked good for Germany in the international break.
Wirtz has the faith of the manager and goes out and expresses himself to the best of his abilities when he puts on that shirt. Last week against Manchester City, Wirtz looked like he had never played football before!“Don’t get me wrong, I like him as a player.
It’s obviously not his fault that they paid that amount of money, but the price tag will always add to the expectations.”Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesConor Bradley receives the same criticism as Florian WirtzWorryingly, Troy Deeney gave a similarly harsh verdict on Conor Bradley after watching the right-back in action versus Man City.He said: “Conor Bradley, for example, has been inconsistent, I would say this year, and that’s not all his own fault because Liverpool have been as well.“He comes up against Vinicius Junior and he’s excellent. The following week against Doku, who’s in a great moment, he looks like he’s never played football before.”The Northern Ireland international had a tough afternoon up against Jeremy Doku but was still praised by Pep Guardiola after the match.But the fact that two Liverpool players have been told they look like they have never played football before in such a short space of time is not ideal.