Roy Keane was proven right about Florian Wirtz after publicly backing the Liverpool midfielder to succeed.
The Germany international had arguably his best game yet in the famous red shirt as the Merseysiders secured a deserved 2-0 win over West Ham on Sunday.
Roy Keane was certain about Florian Wirtz at Liverpool
History tells us that signings over the £100m mark aren’t a certainty as far as success is concerned.
Regardless, Keane was happy to throw the weight of his support behind Liverpool’s record signing as far back as early September.
“I think the physicality can catch players out, but I think he’s got enough quality to be a hit,” the former Republic of Ireland international said on Sky Sports.
Reds legend Jamie Carragher, on the other hand, was a little more cautious in his estimations (and understandably so, so early on in the 2025/26 campaign).
“Wirtz, too early to tell. He’s obviously got quality, hasn’t he? The only thing I’d say is, and I’m sure he’ll come good because we know he’s got quality, but the question will be, ‘Is he a £116m player?’” the 47-year-old said.
“I think he’ll eventually show that, but you’d want to be one of the best players in the league for that, don’t you?”
What do the stats say about Wirtz at the London Stadium?
It’s fair to say that Florian Wirtz’s best action came in the first half against Nuno Espirito Santo’s men.
Sofascore handed the ex-Bundesliga prodigy a 7/10 rating for his efforts against the Hammers (which falls a little short of what we’d have given him).
| Florian Wirtz stats vs West Ham |
| 75 minutes |
| 52 touches |
| 1 key pass |
| 42/45 accurate passes |
| 1 big chance missed |
| 1/2 dribbles completed |
| 3/5 ground duels completed |
* Florian Wirtz’s stats vs West Ham in the Premier League (Sofascore)
To be clear, this wasn’t a generational display against Champions League-level opposition, but it was clear to see that the German was able to more easily express himself on the pitch.
For the first time since, perhaps, the 1-0 win over Real Madrid, Wirtz was able to find pockets of space and time on the ball to impact the game creatively.
There was one moment just after the 15-minute mark that would have perhaps yielded a goal (with a more match-fit, switched-on Alexander Isak), as the playmaker fizzed in a dangerous ball into prime striker territory.
Florian Wirtz vs West Ham 🎥pic.twitter.com/mUc4TvF2NS
— FlorianFlicks (@FlorianFocus) November 30, 2025
Jamie Carragher: This was Wirtz’s best performance yet in the Premier League
Jamie Carragher was effusive in his praise of the Liverpool summer signing, describing Sunday’s outing as Wirtz’s ‘best Liverpool performance by far’.
“He likes the inside-left channel,” the former Red told Sky Sports.
“When you think of Kevin De Bruyne, where do you think of him? You think of the inside right position; you always picture him on the ball in that position. That’s where Florian Wirtz needs to play.”
The MNF pundit went on to add: “This was better, this is exactly where they want him on the pitch, this is where he’s at his best.
“That’s why his performance today was his best Liverpool performance by far.
“He’s had other good performances, but mainly in Europe. In the Premier League, that was the best we’ve seen so far.”
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We all want wirtz , and Isak to be successful, you don’t wish any Liverpool players to fail. Wirtz has had a couple of decent games like yesterday where he’s been neat and tidy on the ball linking up the play. But for me he has to do a lot more to justify his 116 million price tag. Wirtz will get judged by how many goals and assists he gets, not on just pretty passing in midfield. Then there’s who’s going to drop out so he can play. Can this Liverpool team play with salad and Wirtz in the same team. Two players who offer nothing without the ball. Which midfield players drop out to accommodate Wirtz. Maybe a change of system with three midfielders. Wirtz so far has been disappointing, and please don’t compare him to kevin de bruyne. He was world class, he scored 108 goals and had 177 assists in all competitions. Wirtz has a long , long way to get anywhere near what kevin de bruyne did at Manchester city.
He can be compared to KDB from a starting point. KDB grew into the player he became
And KDB was also heavily underappreciated in his early years.
I completely agree – one quality performance against a poor West Ham side does not a £116m signing make! But I think we’ve seen enough so far to suggest that it’s likely he’ll go on to justify the price-tag. If he can have the kind of impact De Bruyne had at City? Wow, what a player we’ll have on our hands.
Roy certainly hedged his bets, but I think it is obvious to all Florian will be a lynchpin of a successful team at some point.
Hi Ian, yeah to be fair – it’s always easy to look back and say, “I was right! I was right.” But to be fair to Roy, I respect the positivity and optimism around the signing.
I know Roy’s probably just answering something put to him in the moment, Farrell, but sometimes one has to call out when there’s a lack of principle shown.
If we don’t, where could that take us ?
To be even-handed, he isn’t the only one by a long-shot.
Kind regards.
For me, its his teammates who have let Wirtz down. When he receives the ball, he is instantly looking at playing a pass but when you have hapless players like Gakpo, nowhere near his wavelength, the potential chances go amiss. Isak will come good but it was clear yesterday that he would have got to that beautiful pass from the left that Wirtz put on a plate for him when he’s up to speed.
I think Wirtz is just too good. We have a very workman like team, all excellent technically but without Diaz, all pretty predictable.
Remember KDB was 23 when Chelsea sold him!!