Florian Wirtz at Liverpool: Why Former Leverkusen Star Is Struggling in the Premier League

Florian Wirtz has not had the start to life at Liverpool that many would have hoped for. Despite being snapped up in the summer for an astronomical fee of £116 million from Bayer Leverkusen, making him the ninth most expensive footballer of all time, he has yet to justify his price tag.

Today, we’ll take a look at why Wirtz has been performing below par for Liverpool this season. We’ll also compare and contrast his performances from last season to see if we can find any anomalies.

Can the German international prove his worth at Anfield before he is labelled as one of the Premier League’s biggest ever flops? Let’s take a look.

Florian Wirtz’s 2025/26 stats

So far this season, Wirtz has yet to register a goal or an assist for Liverpool over the course of eight games in all competitions – he did notch up an assist in the Community Shield against Crystal Palace, though.

On more than one occasion, Wirtz has looked a step or two behind the pace of the game. While the Bundesliga typically promotes high-tempo football, it is not as intense as the Premier League. Additionally, the standard of players in the Premier League is generally higher than those playing in the Bundesliga.

When looking at Wirtz’s stats from last season after six games compared to the current campaign, it doesn’t make for encouraging reading.

Comparing his first six games of 2024/25 and 2025/26

After six league games	2024/25	2025/26
Goals	4	0
Assists	1	0
Yellow Cards	1	1
Red Cards	0	0

Can Wirtz become a success in the Premier League?

Despite this, there are certain factors that Liverpool fans can remain hopeful about. According to FBref, Wirtz has already made 23 shot-creating actions this season – essentially, any action on the pitch that results in a shot. Furthermore, he has also completed ten key passes – almost two per game.

This puts him above players such as Jarrod Bowen, Cody Gakpo and Bryan Mbeumo (in terms of shot-creating actions), despite lacking any goals or assists to his name. Such a statistic implies that the goal contributions will come in time.

Furthermore, he has shown multiple facets to his game. While his greatest attribute is his dribbling ability, Wirtz is also a very capable passer of the ball – he has made several progressive passes and carries in each of his Premier League games thus far.

On top of this, it’s important to remember that Liverpool have been performing well this season – do not let their last two results, against Crystal Palace and Galatasaray, fool you. The Reds are still in pole position to win the Premier League title once again this season and are currently top of the table.

A player of Wirtz’s quality will surely be able to find his feet in the Premier League sooner, rather than later. He is still one of the best attacking midfielders in the world – when he finally notches up his first goal contribution, one has to believe that the floodgates will open.