Jamie Carragher brands Florian Wirtz a £40m player in brutal warning to Liverpool star

Florian Wirtz endured a mixed first season at Liverpool and Jamie Carragher believes the £115m playmaker must do more to justify his transfer fee

Jamie Carragher has heaped pressure on Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz after a disappointing debut Premier League season. The Reds icon feels that it is a make-or-break campaign for the Germany international.

The Sky Sports pundit has urged the 23-year-old to do more to prove he's a £115million game-changer rather than a £40m squad option. It comes after a poor showing for the last season's Premier League champions where he registered five goals and four assists in the Premier League across 33 appearances.

The technician showcased quality and creativity at times, but the end product was not enough to resolve Liverpool's difficulties in attack. Writing in The Telegraph, Carragher said: "Florian Wirtz faces a make-or-break season, but more is at stake than his Liverpool career as he belatedly seeks to establish himself in the Premier League.

"English football needs Wirtz to succeed as much as Andoni Iraola, the new coach at Anfield... How Wirtz fares at the start of this season will indicate whether he will be viewed as the right signing in the wrong era for Liverpool, moving to Merseyside just as the Premier League's preferred style reverted to set-piece dominance.

"The jury is out on whether he possesses the tools to overcome the physical challenge. I must admit, I have my doubts... Even at his best, Wirtz has looked "neat and tidy" rather than the killer in and around the penalty box one would have expected given his fee and reputation.

"He has resembled a useful squad addition for about £40m rather than a game-changer who cost £115m... Given the repercussions across the side and for his club's hopes of an immediate recovery after a torrid 12 months, Wirtz simply must perform to the standard of a top-class Liverpool player. Last year he was afforded months to show up. This season he will probably be given only a few weeks."

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Liverpool pipped Premier League rivals City and Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich to land Wirtz's signature. The 23-year-old arrived on Merseyside in scintillating form, fewer than two years after spearheading Leverkusen's unbeaten title-winning campaign in Germany.

In the two years before joining the Reds, he consistently hit double figures in goal contributions, registering 11 goals and 12 assists in 2023/24, followed by 10 goals and 13 assists in his final season in Germany.

Wirtz opened up on a frustrating campaign following the 3-2 pre-season defeat to AS Monaco. He said: "I'm just trying to make my job better. To make the team better and I don't think too much about how important I am, I just want to make the club successful.

"I just want to be the best version of myself. I try my best to win as many trophies as we can win and I'll try to play my part this season.

"I've played one year now in England and I've said often enough that it's a different style of football than in Germany. You just get used to the games and your opponents. I just know how it is now, so I'm happy to have my next season.

"l definitely learned a lot (from his first season). I just learned how Premier League football is played and I think I am more ready for my second season because I know how it is now. I am really excited for my next season.

"I have not spoken about the style so much [with Iraola], I think he has his ideas of playing football and we just have to work on that even more now."