The last decade at Liverpool was all about making bargain signings look like £100million world-beaters. Recently, the problem for both Andoni Iraola and his predecessor Arne Slot has been the £100m-plus supposed world-beaters struggling to live up to their billing.

The Reds have broken the nine-figure barrier three times in the last 18 months, welcoming Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Bradley Barcola for a combined £364m including add-ons. Between them, they have made 92 appearances and returned just 18 goals, which is admittedly a stat that – like most things in English football at the moment – needs a rather large asterisk alongside it.

Barcola’s midweek hat-trick showed signs he is trending upwards after a slow start, while Isak was in and out last term through injury and has already matched his goal tally this time around after a proper pre-season.

But what about Wirtz? He has featured in 39 of 44 possible league games since his arrival so cannot blame injuries and the German is not the new kid on the block anymore. 

On Wednesday night he flourished at Austrian champions LASK in a 6-3 win. During the last Champions League round he gave another eye-catching performance against Atletico Madrid. 

So why can't he translate his European form to the Premier League? How are Liverpool coaches planning to unlock Wirtz’s talents? And what do the experts back home in Germany, including a certain Jurgen Klopp, make of the conundrum?

Has Wirtz been that bad?

The 23-year-old has shown glimpses of class in nearly every game he has played but the reason he is often chastised by pundits is a lack of consistency.

‘Wirtz never looks like scoring a goal,’ said Reds legend Jamie Carragher after last weekend's 3-0 loss to Manchester City. ‘You don’t come away thinking he missed chances or he worked the goalkeeper.

‘There was absolutely nothing today where you thought he put someone through, or nearly scored. There’s absolutely no goal threat whatsoever.

‘He needs to come out of the team. Liverpool played well for a lot of the game before the (Ryan) Gravenberch red card, but they didn't create a chance... 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.’

When a player costs £116m, this criticism is natural. Since his Reds debut, 87 players have created more 'big chances' (as defined by Opta) in the Premier League. Wirtz has created just five in the league, or one every 7.8 games.

For comparison, Bruno Fernandes has created 34 big chances since Wirtz arrived in England. Rayan Cherki – who Liverpool also looked at but went to Manchester City for £81m less than Wirtz’s fee – has 22.

At Bayer Leverkusen, albeit in a weaker league, Wirtz scored 16 goals and assisted 15 more in his final season of 2024-25, with 18 goals and 20 assists in the title-winning season of 2023-24. He was the main man as Xabi Alonso’s side went unbeaten in domestic competitions.

‘He can control the game and the rhythm,’ Maximilian Koch, chief reporter for Abendzeitung told Daily Mail Sport at the time. ‘He reminds me of Andres Iniesta, a very intelligent and creative player. He can also score and assist, which makes him a complete player.’

Liverpool fans have not seen that yet and his confidence is clearly shot, with Wirtz often going through the motions in games and all too often making the poor choices. When a pass looks on, he will shoot; when he should pull the trigger, he looks for support.

The perfect example of this came in the loss against City when Wirtz took a shot that missed the target and prompted his team-mates to vent their fury. Milos Kerkez punched the air, Bradley Barcola stretched out his arms and Gravenberch puffed out his cheeks.

How to fix the problem

Not getting the best out of his big-money assets was the undoing of Slot. Had he not spent £446m after winning the title, fans – the majority of whom turned on the Dutchman and wanted him gone by the end – would have been more forgiving.

His replacement Iraola has impressed in many respects so far but has still not cracked the Wirtz code. So how does he plan to do it?

One option could be to alter the two who play behind him. The Basque manager’s system has one No6, one No8 and one No10 (Wirtz) but the deeper-lying duo have got in each other’s way at times this season.

Against LASK on Wednesday, with both of the usual duo Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai not starting (the former rested, the latter injured), Liverpool’s midfield looked much more balanced – and Wirtz could thrive more than usual.

Many will discredit this argument based on the fact it is only LASK, but the duo of Trey Nyoni and Gravenberch seemed to sort out a balance issue. Nyoni is in firm contention for his first league start this weekend when Liverpool visit Brentford on Saturday but Gravenberch is suspended.

‘There is one big difference between the Bundesliga and the Premier League and that is the space he gets,’ explains Heiko Niedderer, chief reporter at German newspaper Bild. ‘He would often get more space at Leverkusen to dribble and take great shots.

‘He will adapt to it but it is taking more time than we all thought. Maybe with the new coach he has to get into that style of play. The big advantage he has is that he is very clever and a very good one-touch player.’

To truly get the best out of Wirtz, then, Iraola has to build his team around him. At Leverkusen, he was the main man in a 3-4-2-1 system. Think of the roles played by Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers at Chelsea under Alonso now. Now, team-mates get in his way.

It is the same in Germany, with a big debate in the country over why Wirtz is so much better when Bayern Munich star Jamal Musiala is not in the side. It is because they do not step on each other’s toes and neither is forced out to the left wing.

Iraola has asked Wirtz and Isak to play in tandem. There were signs the duo were clicking until the Swede’s recent injury. He wants Wirtz to be tight to Isak, occupying defenders and creating spaces while also enjoying link-up play in an old-fashioned way.

The player has bulked up to cope with the physical demands of the Premier League, putting on around 9lb last season. There is a strong belief that, with time, it will all start to click and he can show England why he was so in demand 18 months ago.

‘Sometimes we focus only on the numbers,’ said Iraola this week. ‘With Bradley, the other day, he had good situations and we did not finish them. Bradley and Flo are players that I trust 100 per cent.’

The most simple but realistic reason for Wirtz’s struggles is psychological.

He has gone from being the star of Germany to just another player in England – and let’s not forget he walked into a dressing room grieving the devastating loss of Diogo Jota, which made it hard for new players to settle.

Wirtz, like many in a Liverpool shirt, had a poor season last term and is struggling to rediscover his confidence. He has only played 1,084 minutes with Isak so their partnership remains a work in progress, while an understanding with Barcola will only grow with experience.

The signs are that Wirtz is slowly getting better – but Reds fans still demand more consistency.

What is Klopp’s influence?

It is believed that Klopp and Wirtz are in regular contact and the Germany manager is said to send messages to the midfielder after every Liverpool game.

Bild reporter Niedderer explains: ‘Wirtz and Klopp are very close. Klopp sees Wirtz as a big project. They spoke a lot in training, arm in arm and Klopp helped him a lot and publicly said he wants to develop him.

‘The style of Klopp’s play is very good for Wirtz and will help Liverpool because it is obviously the same, he tries to implement that as well. Pressing and stuff. For that game and that style, Wirtz is a great player.

‘The match against Serbia where he had a goal and assist, you can see: if he has the space, the freedom, he can be a great, great, great player. He will show that at Liverpool too, you just need to give him a little more time. Klopp being the national coach will boost it a bit.

‘At Leverkusen, he did not think about much, he just played – but now he has lost his confidence, maybe he is overthinking. The two of them are talking on the phone when there is no national break. We will see a better Wirtz in the future. It will come.

‘It is not a Wirtz alone problem, they all have to develop together and know how to play with each other. Wirtz is a team player, he does not want to do it all alone. I am confident he will be a big thing in Liverpool.’

For what it is worth, Liverpool coaches believe the same. He was signed on a five-year deal and by the time that expires in 2030, they think, everyone will see just why he came with a superstar reputation and mega price tag.