"Let's stop beating about the bush when it comes to Florian Wirtz": Former pro raises the prospect of the Liverpool star's sale

Speaking in his capacity as an ESPN pundit, Burley didn’t mince his words: “Let’s stop beating about the bush when it comes to Florian Wirtz. I’ve had enough of it. What he achieved in Germany, he achieved in Germany. That’s in the past. In this Liverpool team, he’s the absolute lightweight – it’s unbelievable.” Wirtz lacks “such conviction in the final third that it’s incomprehensible,” the former professional continued.

Wirtz moved from Bayer Leverkusen to Anfield Road last summer for a transfer fee of €125 million. There, he initially failed to live up to the high expectations and took weeks to score his first goal for the English champions.

Although Wirtz’s form has been on the up in recent months, he disappointed this week in Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Galatasaray. Burley, who played for Chelsea FC, Celtic Glasgow and Derby County, among others, asked: “If he’s not scoring goals, where are his passes? Where are those dribbles and those bewildering runs he showed at Leverkusen, where he left three or four opponents in his wake and finished with clinical precision? Where is all that?"

Another sticking point is the position Wirtz occupies in Arne Slot’s team. At the start of the season, he was allowed to play in his favourite position in attacking midfield. However, his performances there simply weren’t up to scratch, and Slot consequently broke up his tried-and-tested midfield from the title-winning season featuring Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch.

So Wirtz is now being deployed on the left wing. For Burley, however, this is not a long-term solution: "He’ll probably play his best football as a number ten. And if that doesn’t work out, Liverpool will have to sell him." Wirtz has been "a bit of a waste" so far, according to the 54-year-old’s assessment.

So far, however, Liverpool’s management have been patient with the 22-year-old technical wizard, and a sale after just one season is, at least officially, not on the cards. Wirtz’s contract with the sixth-placed Premier League side runs until 2030.

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