Steven Gerrard breaks ranks with Jamie Carragher over Florian Wirtz as he makes Andoni Iraola demand
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has offered an alternative stance on whether Florian Wirtz should immediately be taken out of the Reds’ starting XI by Andoni Iraola, following Jamie Carragher’s heavy criticism of the German after the side’s 3-0 loss to Manchester City on Sunday (October 11).
Wirtz struggled to have a positive impact against Enzo Maresca’s side, with City coming out on top thanks to strikes from Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki to maintain their perfect start to the 2026/27 campaign.
After the match, former Liverpool defender-turned-pundit Carragher slammed Wirtz and suggested he may need to be dropped after a poor start to the campaign.
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Jamie Carragher calls for Florian Wirtz to be dropped from Liverpool starting XI
Carragher claimed Wirtz never looks like scoring or assisting in the way his fellow No. 10s Cole Palmer, Martin Odegaard and Bruno Fernandes do, with the former Bayer Leverkusen man averaging 0.18 assists, 0.16 goals and creating 2.2 chances per 90 minutes played in the English top flight.
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"I think he needs to come out of the team, I said that last time out and I'm going to say it again," Carragher said on Sky Sports.
"I said Liverpool played well today for a lot of the game before the [Ryan] Gravenberch red card but they didn't create a chance, so Liverpool have a real problem this season with scoring goals and creating chances and that's what you bought Wirtz for. He's not giving you anything defensively and he's not giving you anything going the other way.
"I don't want anyone to pile in on the lad or have a go but I just think we're justified in saying we need more and we can't wait.
"I went back and looked at players who were deemed not good enough for Liverpool in terms of going to win a league title or a European Cup but had real impact in those positions. Players like Nicky Barmby, Vladimir Smicer, Yossi Benayoun, Maxi Rodriguez, Yari Litmanen, Philippe Coutinho, Steven Gerrard, Steve McManaman.
"They've brought more to the table than this lad right now and I just think we're at a stage where we can't wait any longer. I think there's got to be a rebalance of the midfield to get goals and assists in there and to get legs, height and power in there. Gravenberch has to play in that team."
Steven Gerrard still sees ‘a player’ in Florian Wirtz as demand made
However, Gerrard believes Wirtz needs help from the senior players in Liverpool’s squad as well as the coaching staff, maintaining that “there’s definitely a player there” despite his tough start to life on Merseyside.
Speaking about Wirtz on the Overlap Daily, the former Liverpool skipper said: “His [Wirtz] confidence is shot. He's not playing well enough. We need to see more from Wirtz. So, I agree with Jamie Carragher to that extent. But I think Jamie's more like, he needs to be moved to the side. I think the kid needs help. I think he needs help from his manager, from his coaches. I think he needs help from his senior players. I can just picture him beating himself up on how his Liverpool thing started. This kid is a major talent in my opinion. I've seen enough to believe and give him a chance. I think he needs help and support now.
“But I do think having better Liverpool players fit and available around him will help him, because there's been a lot of change and they are in this little transition moment. Whether they should be or not because of the money they've spent, that's a different debate. But I think Florian Wirtz needs help now. And I think sometimes in this situation, if everyone was fit and available, maybe the best thing is for him to come out and have a couple of games on the bench.”
He added: “He needs to do more. He needs to step up a bit more. He needs to realise the situation he's in. But there's definitely a player there, in my opinion. Is he suited to the Premier League? Is he getting knocked about a bit? Yes, he is. He can have help and support in all the areas to make him work at Liverpool. I wouldn't be giving up on him just yet. I think it's too early."
Wirtz signed for a fee of up to £116m in 2025 and has since registered just seven goals and 11 assists in 56 appearances.
Liverpool return to action with a trip to face LASK in the Champions League on Wednesday (October 14).
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Topics: Premier League, Florian Wirtz, Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard, Football News
Luke Davies