Liverpool's £116m Wirtz Under Scrutiny After Slow Start
The short version
- Florian Wirtz signed for Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen in summer 2025 for £116 million.
- He was a key player in Leverkusen's 2023-24 domestic double-winning side and a Germany international.
- Wirtz struggled to make the expected impact during a difficult season for Liverpool.
- Fans broadly agreed to wait until Christmas before judging Wirtz and fellow big-money signing Alexander Isak.
Florian Wirtz has struggled to justify his club-record price tag at Liverpool, but fans are split on how quickly to judge.
Florian Wirtz joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025 in a deal worth £116 million. At the time, the move was widely seen as a major coup, with the then-reigning Premier League champions adding a highly rated young attacking midfielder.
Wirtz had established himself as a key figure in the Leverkusen side that completed a domestic double in 2023-24 and had also become a prominent player for Germany. Expectations were high that he would thrive in England.
Last season proved difficult for Liverpool for a number of reasons, and Wirtz, like several other new arrivals, failed to make the impact expected of a player at his price. That prompted debate among supporters this summer over how much patience he should be shown.
Fan discussions also included Alexander Isak, another nine-figure signing, with a broad consensus that both players should be assessed after Christmas before firmer judgments are made about their futures.
