Florian Wirtz told he's finished at Liverpool as €125m escape route emerges

14 Sept 2026 20:03 BST | 4 min read

Tom Weber | Writer

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Liverpool legend Steve Nicol has urged his former club to move on from Florian Wirtz.

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Briefly the Reds' record signing, the Germany international has failed to live up to his €125 million price tag over the past 12 months. Wirtz has struggled to adapt to the Premier League, and there is a consensus that this is now a make-or-break season for him.

Jamie Carragher has gone so far as to suggest that Wirtz could "embarrass" Liverpool this term if he fails to improve, with the 2025 summer transfer window increasingly looking like one of the worst in Premier League history.

Current ETV

Florian Wirtz

AM (C), M (CL)

Liverpool

Florian Wirtz

AM (C), M (CL)

Liverpool

ETV Range

€84.2M - €103M

Wirtz has produced seven goals and eight assists in 54 appearances for the Anfield club. That is not good enough for a player of his quality and cost, but questions also have to be asked of former sporting director Richard Hughes and the rest of Liverpool's recruitment department.

There was no obvious fit for Wirtz in the Reds' system when he joined last year, and that hasn't really changed. He still seems like more of a Man City-type than someone who can be successful at Liverpool.

Nicol: Wirtz's grace period is over

At the weekend, Wirtz put in another hugely disappointing performance. He failed to unlock a struggling Fulham defence and was widely ridiculed on social media for covering a lot of ground but not affecting the game.

And according to Liverpool legend Steve Nicol, the German should "absolutely" be dropped. "He’s not part of my front four," the 64-year-old said on ESPN after the Fulham match.

"Listen, in my opinion, Wirtz had his best game for Liverpool in midweek against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, but that’s one game in how many? Then Saturday, a fair bit of the ball, but again nothing much to talk about with it."

Nicol believes that Dominik Szoboszlai should take the place of Wirtz as Liverpool's main attack-minded midfielder, with Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch behind him as the "workhorses."

Bayern still admire Wirtz

While it is too early to suggest that Liverpool should cut their losses, Wirtz will continue to face scrutiny should he continue to underperform, and this will inevitably raise questions over his long-term future at the club.

When Liverpool signed him last year, they beat Bayern to his signature. The Bundesliga giants had spent months courting the 23-year-old and were left stunned when he chose Merseyside over Munich.

TEAMtalk claims that Bayern would be "ready to pounce" should Liverpool lose faith in Wirtz. The German outfit remain huge admirers of the playmaker and believe that he could rediscover his Bayer Leverkusen form back in the Bundesliga.

Be that as it may, the fact of the matter is that Bayern simply don't need Wirtz, so it is hard to imagine them spending north of €100m on him in 2027 or even 2028. After all, his no-show last summer allowed Lennart Karl to break into the first team.

Moreover, Jamal Musiala is on the mend again, and the club are confident that his seizures will not cause any long-term harm, while Ismail Saibari was signed in the summer. Another attack-minded midfielder would be overkill.

With the club looking to cut costs and operate sustainably, the Bayern hierarchy will surely not sanction a €100m spend on a player who is not needed. Only the possible departure of Michael Olise could perhaps change that.