Liverpool summer signing needs dropping – Carragher claims star is ‘not at the races’

Robin Bairner

• 1 Oct 2025 08:02 BST
• 4 min read

News

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has told Reds boss Arne Slot that Florian Wirtz needs to be taken out of the team.

Wirtz signed in the summer from Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth €125 million - a British record.

While this big-money move was seen as a triumph for the Anfield club, the Germany international has struggled to settle in his new surroundings. After delivering a decisive pass in the Community Shield, Wirtz has hit a dry patch, failing to score or assist in any of his subsequent eight games.

Current ETV

Florian Wirtz

AM, M (C)

Liverpool

Florian Wirtz

AM, M (C)

Liverpool

€137M

ETV Range

€102.8M - €171.3M

View full profile

After a low-key 90 minutes as Liverpool suffered a surprise 1-0 loss at Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday, Carragher believes the time is right to bring the player out of the firing line.

“Right now, the balance of the team is not right, and the obvious one that stands out is Florian Wirtz, who is just not at the races at all,” he told CBS.

Don’t write Wirtz off

Despite this firm stance, the former Anfield favourite firmly believes that Wirtz will come good.

“He's a young boy, coming to a new league, and has plenty of time to go. But right now, he needs to come out of the team, Liverpool go back to what they were last season, and try to build some confidence and some stability. Right now it looks like a mess,” he added.

The Reds were indeed below their best as they suffered a second successive loss in Istanbul, having been beaten by Crystal Palace in the Premier League at the weekend.

Wirtz completed 83% of his passes in that encounter and delivered 2 key passes – the joint second-highest figure among Liverpool players. He also had a team-high 3 shots, 1 of which hit the target.

Slot showed in benching Salah for the Galatasaray clash that he is not afraid of making big decisions, and ahead of Saturday’s clash with Chelsea, there is now increasing pressure on him to give Wirtz a break for his own good.

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