The reports followed Liverpool’s 3-0 home defeat to Manchester City on Sunday 11 October, a match in which Wirtz was substituted in the 66th minute and in which his own teammates were seen reacting to one of his decisions. Milos Kerkez, Bradley Barcola and Victor Munoz, according to Football365, waved their arms around in visible disappointment after Wirtz shot when the pass was on.
Lothar Matthaus had already made the point from the outside. Writing in his Sky Germany column, the former Germany captain contrasted Wirtz’s role for his country with his position at Anfield.
“His teammates look to find him on the ball there, just as they used to at Leverkusen,” Matthaus said.
“At Liverpool, however, the players tend to look for other options, such as Szoboszlai alongside him or Isak ahead of him.”
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The 23-year-old joined Liverpool for a package totalling £116m from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025. Football365 reports that Chelsea are now among four clubs sounding out his situation, with the Stamford Bridge move framed as a potential rescue mission.
Alonso’s old number 10
The Chelsea link runs through Xabi Alonso, who was appointed on a four-year contract in May and started work on 1 July. He coached Wirtz through the German’s most productive years at Bayer Leverkusen, including the unbeaten Bundesliga season of 2023-24. Matthaus named the English option in the same column.
“There are clubs in Spain that would be interested, as well as another club in England: Chelsea, where Wirtz’s former coach Xabi Alonso is now in charge.”
Bayern Munich, often floated as a plausible home for any struggling German international, was ruled out by Matthaus in the same breath.
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“At the moment, I honestly wouldn’t know where Wirtz would fit in, and I simply don’t see any realistic short-term possibility of bringing him to Bayern Munich.”
Carragher wants him dropped
The frustration shown on the Anfield pitch was echoed in the Sky Sports studio. Jamie Carragher used post-match analysis to argue that Wirtz had been given more than enough rope.
“The Florian Wirtz where he’s almost nailed on that he plays every week in that No. 10 position, it has to stop,” Carragher said.
“I think Liverpool have given him enough chances and he has to come out of the team.”
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Michael Owen went further the following day. He argued that Mohamed Salah’s output has set an unforgiving benchmark for Liverpool’s expensive attackers, Wirtz and the £123m Barcola among them, and that patience was running thin.
“There is no question that he’s underperforming in a Liverpool shirt and has been for over a season,” Owen said.
“Getting it out is a huge doubt because it’s been over a year.”
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