Arne Slot was right – Florian Wirtz quality was never in doubt

Things are starting to click for Florian Wirtz at Liverpool.

The 22-year-old generated a lot of summer excitement at Anfield when the club announced they had forked out £116 million for Bayer Leverkusen playmaker.

After registering an astonishing 73 goals and assists under Xabi Alonso over the previous two seasons, a lot was expected of Wirtz, who looked like the perfect choice to fill the creative void left by Trent Alexander-Arnold at Liverpool.

However, things have not quite gone to plan for the young German. After a run of four consecutive Premier League defeats in October, blame for Liverpool’s poor form was shifted firmly in the direction of Wirtz.

Despite the hype, the German had failed to register a goal or assist in his first 11 Premier League appearances for the Reds.

It was the type of form that saw Gary Neville say the German looked like a “little boy” during the Reds’ 3-0 defeat to Manchester City in November.

However, as Liverpool prepare to face Pep Guardiola’s men again this weekend, the German will be looking to make the Sky Sports pundit eat his words.

Florian Wirtz’s upturn in form

After a poor start to life in England, Florian Wirtz has been in fine form of late. Since a 2-1 win at Tottenham on 20 December, Wirtz has been involved in more goals than any other Premier League player in all competitions (9 – six goals, three assists).

Moreover, despite the shaky start, the German has still created 41 big chances in the top flight, which is the second most of any teammate at Liverpool (Dominik Szoboszlai has registered 43).

Across the Premier League as a whole, only Bukayo Saka (43), Declan Rice and Anton Stach (both 44), and Bruno Fernandes (68) can better Wirtz’s record.

Since December 20th, no Premier League player has registered more goal contributions across all competitions than Florian Wirtz (9) pic.twitter.com/Uz7e2GxtJT

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 1, 2026

Slot: Wirtz quality never in doubt

It’s the kind of run that has had everyone asking Liverpool boss Arne Slot the same question – what has changed for the young German?

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s clash with Manchester City, Slot eventually gave a response – and the answer was, well, nothing really.

“Florian didn’t even improve that much on the ball. From the start he was special on the ball.”

For Slot, it was never a question of if Wirtz would come good for Liverpool, but when. And fortunately for the Reds, that time is now, as the Bundesliga star begins to click with his Liverpool teammates.

Slot continued: “Maybe now he has a better connection with his team-mates because they played more and more together. Off the ball, I see the biggest improvement with him, and with some others.

“And that combination makes you ready for the Premier League – the Premier League is about both.”

Despite a simple answer from the Dutchman, it turns out Slot may be right – Liverpool are starting to adapt to Wirtz.

It has taken Liverpool a while to start trusting Wirtz, but after spending the best part of a decade relying on Alexander-Arnold and Mo Salah down that right-hand side, Liverpool are finally turning to Wirtz for inspiration – and a quick look at the numbers proves this.

Why did Wirtz start so badly?

Wirtz’s first few months in the Premier League yielded little return, and if you look at some basic metrics, you can see why.

Florian Wirtz 2025/26 stats split comparison (Source: Fotmob)

In his first nine league starts at Liverpool, Wirtz averaged just 59 touches and 42 passes per game. Compare that to his final season with Bayer Leverkusen, where he was averaging 87 touches and 50 passes every 90 minutes.

Some may look at this drop off as a player struggling to adapt to the pace of the Premier League, where space and time on the ball is far more of a luxury.

However, it is more likely to suggest that Wirtz was being given less time to show his talents in a team that had become accustomed to playing through their right-hand side since 2017.

Another factor in Wirtz’s poor start was the fact he was having to adapt to new teammates.

Wirtz’s lack of chemistry with his new teammates can be demonstrated by his bout of low pass accuracy in his first nine starts. The German registered three games with a pass accuracy under 80% on three occasions in games against Bournemouth (75%), Burnley (71%) and Brentford (76%).

So not only were his Liverpool teammates struggling to find Wirtz in the early months of the season, but Wirtz was also having fewer opportunities to find them.

In Wirtz we trust

Flash forward to 2026, and Liverpool’s future with Wirtz is showing the first signs of arriving, with Liverpool finding their German superstar a lot more.

In his last ten starts in the Premier League under Slot, Wirtz’s touches per game have jumped to an average of 74, closer to the numbers he was showing in the Bundesliga.

With more of the ball, he has had more time to gel with his teammates and pick them out with passes, averaging 59 passes per game.

Significantly, he and Hugo Ekitike finally look to be on the same wavelength, with the pair having combined to score six times this season.

With the Reds finally trusting Wirtz to deliver, Liverpool are reaping the rewards as the German’s xG+A has nearly doubled from 0.37 to 0.54 per game.

It seems as though Slot was right – Wirtz’s quality was always there, Liverpool just needed time to allow it to flourish.