Hamann warns Liverpool may 'pull the plug' on Wirtz as Carragher questions his ceiling

Dietmar Hamann has issued a stark warning over Florian Wirtz’s future at Liverpool, describing the £100m signing as a ‘huge misunderstanding’ and predicting the club will eventually ‘pull the plug’ on the 23-year-old if his form does not improve.

Wirtz has managed just one assist since arriving at Anfield, and his latest performance — a 1-0 win over Bournemouth — drew sharp criticism from former Liverpool vice-captain Jamie Carragher, who said it was ‘one of the poorest I’ve ever seen him in a Liverpool shirt.’

Hamann, speaking ahead of the international break, was blunt in his assessment of his fellow German. ‘Even the English have now realised that what happened between Liverpool and Wirtz looks like a huge misunderstanding,’ the former Reds midfielder said. ‘It will be interesting to see how he performs because if things continue like this in Liverpool, they’ll eventually pull the plug. I can only judge what I see, and what I see is a player who cost a lot of money, played poorly last year, and has had another poor start this year. When you’re bought for that much money, naturally, they want you to make the difference in the final third — he’s doing that far too rarely.’

Carragher’s concern runs deeper than a form slump. ‘I’ve been critical of the fact that he hasn’t got the numbers, but normally when you watch Wirtz, he’s neat and tidy, he keeps possession,’ the pundit said. ‘But the reason I worry is, I don’t think Wirtz is in poor form since he came to Liverpool — I actually think what we’re seeing is what he is.’

Wirtz will now have four Nations League fixtures with Germany under new head coach Jurgen Klopp — against Greece, the Netherlands, and Serbia — to rediscover the form that made him one of Europe’s most coveted players during his time at Bayer Leverkusen and at this summer’s World Cup.

Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola offered a more measured view after the defeat, acknowledging a slow start but defending Wirtz’s second-half contribution. ‘He started the game slowly, I agree,’ Iraola said. ‘But in the second half he was playing much better — he was finding better spots to receive and turn. I’m much more happy with his second half than his first one.’

Whether that improvement is enough to silence his critics at Anfield remains to be seen.