Florian Wirtz's Struggles at Liverpool: Can He Turn It Around?

Robert Huth does not see a happy ending coming for Florian Wirtz at Liverpool. In fact, the former Premier League defender is already talking about an exit.

"I really find it hard to see how this can still turn around," said Huth on All Out Football's podcast In The Mixer, dissecting Wirtz's situation at Anfield. Huth, a veteran of 322 Premier League appearances and a title winner with Leicester City in 2016, did not mince his words.

To Huth, Wirtz is "obviously a good player". That is not in doubt. The problem, he argues, lies in the step up to English football. "He has real problems with his physicality," said the 42-year-old, who won 19 caps for Germany and featured at the 2006 World Cup on home soil. For Huth, the Premier League might simply be a size too big in that regard.

Liverpool have invested heavily in proving him wrong. In 2025 they wired a base fee of 125 million euros to Bayer Leverkusen to bring the playmaker to England, a statement signing meant to shape the club’s next era. His first season, though, never quite caught fire. There were flashes, moments that hinted at his talent, but nowhere near the consistency expected for that kind of fee.

Now comes the reset. Under new head coach Andoni Iraola, Liverpool hope year two will be different – sharper, stronger, the season that turns Wirtz from expensive project into undisputed starter.

Wirtz, for his part, insists the work is already bearing fruit.

"I would say that I have developed in almost every area. Definitely when it comes to my physical level," he told RTL and Sky, pushing back at Huth’s assessment and similar criticism. The 23-year-old described the daily demands at Liverpool as relentless.

"Even in training, I have to push myself almost to my limits every day, simply because there are players here who are also fully committed in training every day and have that kind of quality. You also have to be at a good level yourself," the Germany international explained.

The debate flared up again after Liverpool’s opening Premier League game of the new season, a 2-2 draw away at Newcastle United. Huth watched Wirtz closely – and came away unconvinced.

"His body language is also a bit poor," Huth said, unimpressed by the playmaker’s display. For him, the signs are not pointing towards a slow-burn success story. Quite the opposite.

He doubts Wirtz can turn things around quickly and even floated a brutal scenario: "By Christmas they will probably look to move him on if he does not improve, because he has become an expensive problem for Liverpool," the former centre-back claimed.

A record signing, a sceptical countryman, a new coach and a ticking clock. For Florian Wirtz at Anfield, the margin for error already looks painfully small.