There’s a bit of football internet whiplash going on with the whole “we should’ve signed the other lad” debate. Truth is, if the roles were reversed and Wirtz was the one flying while Cherki was quieter, you wouldn’t see half as many people insisting we’d got it wrong.
It ends up sounding like bandwagon stuff, driven by whichever highlight clip is doing the rounds that week. And I get it, everyone wants instant payoff. But this idea that you’d actively choose Cherki over Wirtz, based on what both had shown across the two seasons before arriving, just doesn’t land with me.
Why Wirtz fits what we’re trying to be
Wirtz looks exactly the type of player Liverpool have built their best sides around: clever between the lines, always offering an angle, always trying to connect the play rather than treating possession like it’s someone else’s job.
Even when things aren’t clicking around him, he still wants the ball. That matters. You can see him trying to knit moves together, looking for combinations, trying to speed things up when it’s gone a bit flat. When a side is struggling for rhythm, you need lads who keep asking questions rather than hiding.
Stronger, tougher, and still grafting
One thing I’ve liked lately is that he’s starting to look stronger. He’s becoming harder to knock off the ball, and that’s massive in this league where you barely get a second to set yourself. There’s a difference between being “technical” and being able to stay technical when someone’s hanging off your shoulder.
And the other bit is mentality. He doesn’t sulk. He keeps running, keeps showing, keeps trying to create something out of nothing. That’s the minimum at Anfield, really, but not every talented player gives you it when the game’s messy.
If the team’s off, everyone looks worse
The uncomfortable part is the wider picture: when the team isn’t playing well, it drags individual performances down across the board. Attacking midfielders especially can end up looking like they’re doing “nice touches” without end product, when in reality the structure around them isn’t giving them the right pictures or runners.
So yes, Wirtz will need to add goals and assists, because that’s what top players get judged on. But I’m not worried about him being the issue. If anything, he’s one of the few who looks like he’s actively trying to pull the side into shape. My problem lies elsewhere.
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