Major flaw in Florian Wirtz’s game means he’s not a £100m player

Florian Wirtz should be more clinical if he’s worth his £116m price tag – he’s failing to rediscover his scoring form at Liverpool.

That’s according to talkSPORT’s Tony Cascarino, who believes the German is missing the finishing touch from his game.

Getty

Wirtz arrived at Anfield from Bayer Leverkusen for a British record transfer fee and was expected to be an instant hit in England.

However, the 22-year-old took some time to settle before beginning to make his mark and impact Arne Slot‘s side.

Despite that upturn in form though, one thing has still been managing to evade him – and that’s goals.

He has four Premier League goals to his name in 25 appearances, while scoring one in the Champions League and one in the FA Cup.

And after missing some big chances against Galatasaray last week, with Liverpool going on to lose 1-0, Cascarino wants to see more.

The former Chelsea striker and Reds fan said on talkSPORT’s Weekend Sports Breakfast on Sunday: “Wirtz had a couple of chances against Galatasaray, he didn’t take them.

“And look, there’s no doubt that he is a very technically gifted footballer. But what he’s not is he’s not very clinical.”

He added: “For someone who’s £100m+, he’s not a very clinical player…okay, he’s not an out-and-out striker, but his goal record previously has been pretty okay.

“It’s not incredible, but he got quite a lot of goals in the season where Bayer Leverkusen were Bundesliga champions.

“He hasn’t really rediscovered that at Anfield yet.”

AFP

Out of the Flo

Wirtz was a key goalscorer and creator for Bayer Leverkusen when playing for his old side in Germany.

In his last two seasons for the club, he had double figures for both goals and assists in the Bundesliga.

During the 2023/24 term, he scored 11 goals and assisted 12 before going on to score 10 goals and provide 13 assists a year later.

But now for Liverpool, he’s only scored four goals in 25 league appearances, struggling to reach similar numbers.

Of course, the step up to Premier League football is tough and considered a level above German football.

However, Wirtz will be sure to have wanted to score more, especially after having 24 shots and 15 on target so far this season.

Getty

Confidence builder?

Wirtz will hope to add to his goal tally against Tottenham on Sunday afternoon as Liverpool host Spurs at Anfield.

Igor Tudor’s job appears to be on the line, meaning if the German international hits form, he may put the final nail in the coffin.

The Reds take on Tottenham at 4:30pm on Merseyside.

talkSPORT.com will be running a dedicated live blog of the match, while updates are available on talkSPORT’s GameDay Live.

To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream. 

You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.