How Florian Wirtz Has Gone From ‘Little Boy’ to Liverpool’s Main Man

Impressive at Sunderland, Florian Wirtz Has Gone From ‘Little Boy’ to the Main Man

In the space of three months, Florian Wirtz has gone from comparisons with a lost “little boy” to the great Zinedine Zidane. Both are obviously incorrect.

Wirtz has never been that bad and isn’t yet at the level of an all-time icon, but the way that he has blossomed into one of Liverpool’s most important players after being visibly weighed down by his £116 million ($158.2 million) price tag is among the most positive aspects of a season that has offered few bright sparks for the defending champions.

In the intimidating atmosphere of the Stadium of Light, the last Premier League stadium to witness a home defeat, Wirtz rose to the occasion. Peppering a mesmeric first half against Sunderland with dainty flicks and velvety touches which Steven Gerrard giddily dubbed “almost Zidane-like,” Wirtz hit the post as Liverpool established the upper hand. Virgil van Dijk’s header would prove to be the difference, but it was the fleet-footed German who took all the acclaim.

As Arne Slot was keen to point out: “Not for the first time he was really good.”

Muscling Up

In the aftermath of Liverpool’s bleak 3–0 defeat to Manchester City in November, Sky Sports co-commentator and eight-time Premier League-winning fullback Gary Neville captured the opinion of many armchair analysts. “I thought Wirtz looked like a little boy,” he sniped. “He’s been mauled out there today by Matheus Nunes and by others.

“He’s been chucked around the pitch, and he didn’t deliver on the quality side of things as well, so his performance was a real worry.”

Brawn has never been at the forefront of Wirtz’s game. The Bundesliga is no place for the faint-hearted but the physicality of the Premier League has ratcheted up to a completely different level in recent seasons; just look at the way English teams with middling domestic records can dominate in Europe by little more than brute force.

Some time for adaptation was always going to be required.

Wirtz’s First Premier League Season So Far

Stats via Opta.

A strict workout regiment has seen Wirtz add “between three to four kilograms” in muscle mass, per the Daily Mail, and Slot was keen to acknowledge the difference.

“Off the ball I see the biggest improvement with him,” the Dutch boss noted recently.

“First and foremost credit to the player because he has to do the work in the pitch and the gym,” Slot gushed. “If he is physically struggling at the start, you need to keep on playing him as that is the only way he can improve.”

Wirtz didn’t complete the full 90 minutes of a Premier League match until December. After limping off during a narrow win over Arsenal in August, Slot laughed off any questions about the health of his summer recruit: “It wasn’t an injury, it was a welcome to the Premier League! After 85 minutes, I don’t think he knew he could have cramp in so many different places.”

Liverpool’s diminutive No. 7 did not wilt under the physical toll posed by Sunderland, arguably the most overtly aggressive club among the Premier League’s land of bullies, and saw out the full 90 minutes—just as he had in a much improved performance against Manchester City only three days earlier. Playing time is just one aspect of improved consistency which has helped Wirtz.

Involvement

Wirtz is a high volume player. At Bayer Leverkusen he was the focal point of every attack, greasing the wheels of any foray into the final third. Across his first few months in the Premier League, he simply didn’t see enough of the ball.

That is down to a number of factors. Liverpool as a collective struggled to control contests, blagging their way through ragged matches across those helter-skelter early weeks. A deliberate steer towards a dialled-down tempo may have brought football’s aesthetes out of the woodwork, but it has provided Wirtz with a more stable foundation from which to tip-toe between the lines.

Wirtz is now also far more inclined to receive possession from his teammates. “I don’t think he improved that much on the ball because from the start he was special,” Slot mused earlier this year, “but maybe now he has a better connection with his teammates.”

The most obvious fruitful partnership for Wirtz has been with Hugo Ekitiké. The two summer recruits have formed a close bond on and off the pitch, with the rubbery Frenchman dovetailing well with his understated German colleague. The pair have assisted each other for six goals across all competitions, the highest tally for two new Liverpool signings since John Barnes and Ray Houghton 38 years ago, per Opta.

“I am feeling much better than at the start of the season,” Wirtz recently told BBC Sport. “It’s nice to play with players like Hugo.”

The improved relationship with those behind him has also been crucial for Wirtz. Even in his scrawny earlier iterations this season, the hard-running 22-year-old could never be accused of laziness. If anything, his insistence on charging all over the pitch was a hindrance.

Wirtz still isn’t replicating the number of touches he was able to amass at Leverkusen—the higher quality of Premier League opponents simply won’t allow it—but more and more of his involvements are coming at the sharp end of the pitch as he lets the likes of Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister progress the ball through the defensive and middle thirds.

Patience

Wirtz is a shy character. The youngest of 10, he freely admits that he grew up “always hiding behind my sisters.” Moving to a new league in a new country with a new language was always going to be a shock to the system.

“It was not easy always to have the confidence on the pitch,” he reflected when looking back at his 190-day wait for a goal.

“I was very excited when I came and wanted to be an instant success,” Wirtz explained. “It didn’t come like this. I just had to stay strong in my mind and keep believing in myself that at one point it has to click. I was telling myself: ‘You did so good in Germany, you can’t just forget how to play football here.’ It was not completely different football.“

That’s the thing. There has been no great click.

Wirtz’s Gradual Improvement

Stats via UnderStat.

Wirtz’s numbers have improved across recent weeks but not by staggering amounts. The German infamously had to wait until the week before Christmas before registering his first Premier League assist. Yet, up to that point he had created 25 chances for his teammates which had all been squandered.

Heading into the 2025–26 campaign, Liverpool co-owner Tom Werner gushed: “Out of all the things that have been said about Florian, if even half of them come true, he’ll be a huge contributor for us.”

Many of the criticisms spouted about Wirtz during the first half of the season have emphatically fallen flat. Now it’s a question of whether he can continue to justify the praise he is currently lapping up.

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