Florian Wirtz: A 'Connective No.10' or Victim of the Media Narrative War?

There is one detail that most articles about Florian Wirtz this season have missed: in Liverpool's 1-0 win over Bournemouth, the German was substituted in the 71st minute, but before that, he had the most passes into the final third of any home player. That number did not appear in Jamie Carragher's analysis – the man who called Wirtz's display 'one of the worst performances I have ever seen'. But it was there for me, a man who has watched hundreds of matches like this. The consensus is forming: Wirtz is a failed expensive signing. Six matches, one assist, no goals in a Liverpool shirt. On social media, the word 'flop' has begun to appear. Legend Jamie Carragher urges the head coach to drop him from the starting eleven. But on the other side, Emile Heskey, a former Liverpool striker, has spoken out in Wirtz's defense, saying the 'No.10' role is the most suitable for him and that his teammates have not yet understood the movement of the 23-year-old. I have followed Wirtz since his time at Bayer Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso. In the 2026-2026 season, he was not the top scorer, but he was the one who created the most space. He is the 'connective' No.10: receiving between the lines, dragging center-backs out of position, then passing for others to score. His problem at Liverpool is not individual technique. It is what Heskey calls 'being on the same wavelength'. Look again at the 34th-minute move against Bournemouth: receiving from Trent Alexander-Arnold, Wirtz immediately saw the space behind the opponent's left-back and played a long pass to where he expected Diogo Jota to be. Jota did not run. Again, Wirtz looked around and raised his hand in apology. Historically, Wirtz has always been the one who arrives earliest, who understands tactical intent fastest. The problem is that his teammates are not always able to read that intent. For a 'connective No.10' to shine, the players ahead must make constant, calculated runs. If they stand still, Wirtz becomes harmless. And when he becomes harmless, he gets substituted in the 71st minute. That is a dangerous loop. When the 2026-2026 season began, Liverpool's coach deployed Wirtz in a central 'No.10' role – the role he played best at Leverkusen. But it has been noted that Wirtz was previously used in a half-wide, shuttling midfield position. This positional turbulence, coupled with a coaching change partway through last season, disrupted his adaptation process. We are talking about a player who is only 23, entering the most demanding football environment on the planet. But I would be a hypocrite if I only blamed his teammates and tactics. Look at the numbers. One assist in six matches. No goals. For a club that recruited him for a record-scale fee, that is an indefensible shortfall. Even Heskey – Wirtz's most ardent defender – conceded: 'He still needs to pose more of a goal threat'. A modern No.10 cannot just create five passes per game; he must score 10-15 goals a season to be considered world-class. The contrarian angle I ask myself: am I being too harsh on Wirtz? Possibly. But I have been in this profession long enough to know that what kills a great talent is not criticism, but silence. If a player scores 5 goals in 6 matches, people will praise him. But is Carragher being fair when he calls Wirtz's performance 'the worst' while Liverpool still won 1-0 and Wirtz was still the most creative player on the pitch? The media is creating a 'hype-and-destroy' narrative – and Wirtz is in the middle of that storm. What I care about more is the future of Liverpool's head coach. If he keeps Wirtz in the lineup, he defies media pressure. If he drops Wirtz, he confirms Carragher is right. But modern football has something called 'statistical regression': when expected numbers (xG, xA) eventually exceed actual output, things self-correct. The transfer market has seen too many cases of a star being buried after 10 matches, then exploding in the next 10. I leave the reader with a question: if Wirtz scores a brace next weekend, will Carragher go on air to apologize? I bet he will not. Because the media does not need the truth; the media needs a story. And the story of Florian Wirtz, as I have long written, is not over yet.