Interview
Alan Shearer knows why Wirtz is struggling at Liverpool
Having arrived at Liverpool this summer from Bayer Leverkusen for £100 million (plus £16 million in bonuses), Florian Wirtz is still struggling to convince. Speaking to the Daily Mirror, former England international Alan Shearer explained what he sees as the main issue.
Despite being named the best player in the Bundesliga for the past two seasons, the German international has yet to find his influence in a Reds shirt. For former England striker Alan Shearer, the difficulty mainly lies in his positioning:
The problem with Wirtz is that his best position is as a number 10. But Liverpool doesn’t play with a number 10. That’s the issue.
Shearer believes that criticism of Wirtz is inevitable given his hefty price tag, but insists it doesn’t reflect a lack of talent:
There’s no doubt about his quality, but he needs to be integrated into a system that worked well last season. Right now, that hasn’t happened. Sometimes Liverpool sacrifices midfield balance just to fit him in.
🚨 𝗗𝗜𝗗 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪: Despite the heavy criticism, Florian Wirtz is still the player who created the MOST chances in the Premier League along with Jack Grealish.
21 big chances in total! ✨ pic.twitter.com/cs5lndg5QE
— The Touchline | 𝐓 (@TouchlineX) October 3, 2025
