Rooney: 'Florian Wirtz is detrimental to Liverpool'

Wayne Rooney cautions that Florian Wirtz is unsettling Liverpool and highlights Dominik Szoboszlai as a better option.

According to the Manchester United legend, the £116 million signing is "harming" Liverpool as he has yet to integrate into the current squad. Rooney believes Florian Wirtz has not adapted to Liverpool's style of play, causing imbalance within the team and facing many challenges in the Premier League.

The German midfielder joined Anfield last summer with high expectations after shining brilliantly at Bayer Leverkusen, where he helped the German club win the 2023/24 Bundesliga title unbeaten. However, in the Premier League, Wirtz has yet to make a significant impact and was even benched by coach Arne Slot in the Merseyside derby, which Liverpool won 2-1 against Everton.

In the away match against Crystal Palace, Wirtz returned to the starting lineup but delivered a disappointing performance by missing a clear chance, shooting straight at Dean Henderson from just 5 meters. He was substituted in the 74th minute for Federico Chiesa and so far has no goals or assists in 8 appearances across all competitions. Rooney emphasized: "That was a huge amount of money, and in my view, Wirtz is truly disrupting Liverpool’s style of play. He is a top player and will definitely improve, but there’s no denying his slow start."

Rooney believes that with fierce competition from top stars like Salah and new signings, Wirtz struggles to break into the starting eleven: "Everyone has to compete, and Wirtz is the least impressive player. He has great talent, but I don’t see a place for him in this squad."

The former striker says if he had to choose between Wirtz and Dominik Szoboszlai, he would favor Szoboszlai: "For me, when compared to Szoboszlai, I would pick Szoboszlai."

Wirtz himself admits the difficulties he is facing: "Of course, I want to score goals or provide some assists. But I stay calm. I don’t want to always hear ‘give it time, give it time.’ I just want to try to improve after every match." The German midfielder believes these challenges are just a phase and will soon be overcome.

Liverpool will host Galatasaray in the second group stage match of the Champions League at 2 a.m. on October 1. This will be an opportunity for Wirtz to prove his worth and regain his best form. Can Florian Wirtz reclaim his place at Liverpool, or will Szoboszlai remain Arne Slot’s top choice?