Rodri has opened the door for Florian Wirtz to silence Liverpool doubters

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Liverpool should give serious consideration to the idea of potentially selling Florian Wirtz in an upcoming window.At least, that seems to be the thrust of recent discourse around the German’s future (or potential lack thereof) at Anfield.The case for Liverpool selling Florian Wirtz(Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)The former Bayer Leverkusen sensation has been accused of nearly every footballing sin under the sun since his then record-breaking switch to Merseyside in 2025.So let’s roll through a few of them, shall we? Jamie Carragher (via CBS Sports last term after PSG defeat): “I said before the game, and I include Wirtz and Isak in this, to be a top player for Liverpool as an attacking player, you need to be arrogant on the ball but humble off the ball.

They don’t do enough off the ball, and that’s why it’s easy to play against Liverpool right now.” Didi Hamann (via Goal): “When you’re bought for that much money, naturally, they want you to make the difference in the final third of the game. I want to put a rocket up him because there’s ability there, there’s talent there, the understanding of his position.” Look, to be clear, criticism of Wirtz isn’t unfounded; we can appreciate why commentators have gone after the Germany international this season.

For that, having a world-class number ten in our No.7 technically offers its advantages, assuming we can get the footballer back to the standard he demonstrated in the Bundesliga.Is this Wirtz’s first “true” season at Liverpool?We’ve spoken about mitigating factors last season and it feels pertinent to once again raise it here in this context.We’ve seen the likes of Andy Robertson and Virgil van Dijk all speak eloquently about the emotional damage of Diogo Jota’s passing and the resulting impact on Liverpool’s 2025/26 season.Yes, we can talk about fitness issues and Arne Slot’s decision-making, but when you’ve got a team of footballers who ultimately aren’t interested in football (to paraphrase our recently departed left-back), it’s not an ideal environment for new signings to bed into.Which raises questions around how to what degree we can treat 2025/26 as a meaningful season when it comes to analysing Florian Wirtz’s worth in England. Yet, given time, the footballing world has since come to appreciate the now-Barcelona player as one of the most talented holding midfielders in history – certainly, the leading holding midfielder of his generation (alongside Fabinho’s peak Liverpool years).While there’s no guarantee that Wirtz will follow a similar trajectory at L4, there’s at least prior evidence to suggest a pathway forward for the playmaker at Liverpool.Time, as ever, will tell.