I’d love to be able to fully defend Wirtz here, because you can see why Liverpool went big on him. But the cold reading isn’t great, and there’s no point pretending otherwise. Late December, 15 Premier League appearances, and still no goal or assist in the league. Across all competitions it’s 0 goals and 4 assists in 20 matches, which just isn’t what anyone expects when the fee being talked about is £116 million.

That’s not a personal dig, either. It’s more the reality of what a headline signing becomes the second the numbers don’t follow. Anfield will back talent, but it also clocks when the end product isn’t arriving. Especially for a player brought in to tilt tight games.

Replacing Szobo was always about output

The key point in all this is why he was signed in the first place. The idea, as you’ve said, was that Wirtz comes in to replace Szobo because Szobo didn’t score or assist enough for Arne Slot’s liking. Slot flagging it publicly once is telling, because managers don’t usually single players out like that unless they’re trying to make a point about standards.

So if the whole justification is more goals, more assists, more punch in the final third, then Wirtz is going to get judged almost entirely on that. Not on tidy touches, not on turning away from pressure, not on nice angles in possession. The end product is the job title.

Why the Cherki comparison is landing

It’s also fair that fans are looking sideways at Cherki. Same league, arrived at the same time, similar zones on the pitch, both meant to add craft and incision. If Cherki’s had the better short-term impact, people will talk. That’s football. Comparisons happen because supporters want to know what they’re seeing is normal bedding-in stuff, or something more worrying.

And to be fair, there’s context that doesn’t always show up in raw numbers. A creative player can look quiet if the team’s rhythm around them isn’t quite right: timing of runs, confidence of the forwards, even who takes set-pieces can swing those assist totals.

The hope: class is still class

Truth is, I’m still with you on the long-term view. Plenty of top players take time to settle into the Premier League, into the pace of transitions, the physicality off the ball, and the constant demand to make decisions in half-spaces with someone snapping at your heels.

But there’s no hiding from this bit either: the longer the league output stays at zero, the louder the conversation gets. Wirtz doesn’t need a miracle. He needs one proper moment to break the seal, then another, then another. If he’s the special talent many pegged him as, it’ll come. We just need it to start showing up in the numbers soon.

Written by LFC-S MANGO: 19 December 2025

Tags: transfers efl tactics