Drop him! Carragher demands Liverpool axe £116m Wirtz after City flop
Jamie Carragher has called on Liverpool to drop Florian Wirtz. The Sky Sports pundit tore into the £116 million signing after the German's display in Sunday's 3-0 home defeat to Manchester City, insisting the midfielder 'shouldn't be in the Liverpool team right now.'
Details: Wirtz's afternoon at Anfield lasted until the 62nd minute, when Ryan Gravenberch's second yellow card for a foul on Jérémy Doku forced Andoni Iraola into a reshuffle and the German was the man sacrificed in the 3-0 loss. Speaking after the match, Carragher insisted his criticism was about a body of work, not a one-off: 'We're not saying this after five-ten games, we're saying this after 50-60 games.' Wirtz, who arrived from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025 as a British record signing, has seven goals and eleven assists in 56 appearances for the club, and has yet to score this season with just one assist in seven games in all competitions. Carragher was scathing about his impact: 'There was absolutely nothing today where you thought he put someone through, or nearly scored. There's absolutely no goal threat whatsoever.' He also argued that Wirtz should not be starting ahead of Gravenberch, who began the season badly, lost his place, and returned impressively against City before his dismissal.
What makes the intervention so pointed is that Carragher had publicly framed the international break as Wirtz's 'last hope.' The former defender admitted he had been criticised by supporters for his negativity after the Bournemouth game, but argued that the only escape route was for Jürgen Klopp, now in charge of Germany, to 'get his arm around' the playmaker during the three-week break. It worked: Wirtz played well and scored for Germany. But back at Anfield, in a game Liverpool began without the injured Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo, Carragher felt the German was badly outshone. 'Koumas and Munoz were better than the two £100m players. That can't be right,' he said, adding that what Wirtz is giving Liverpool 'right now is nowhere near enough.' On Sky, his old strike partner Daniel Sturridge pushed back, arguing Wirtz is a 'half-space player' who is being judged in a position that may not suit him, and suggesting he belongs on the left flank as he plays for Germany. Carragher dismissed that as making excuses.
It's worth noting that this is not the first time Carragher has demanded Wirtz be dropped: he said after the Bournemouth win in September that the German would not be in his team to face City, and he has also questioned Liverpool's wider spending, pointing to the knock-on effect that playing Wirtz at No. 10 forces Dominik Szoboszlai, himself struggling with a hamstring injury, out of his best position.
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Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
