Florian Wirtz's stats are off the scale but Liverpool claim doesn't quite make sense
Florian Wirtz is playing the best football of his Liverpool career so far but he will now face a crucial test against Brighton on Sunday.
The 23-year-old, who arrived in the summer of 2025 in a deal worth up to £116million, has been besieged by flop claims since moving to the Premier League.
Seven goals and eight assists in 49 games across all competitions last season partly masked plenty of poor performances, but Andoni Iraola hopes to have unlocked something in the Germany international.
Wirtz scored against Villarreal on Tuesday and assisted against both Brentford and LASK in the games before, as he racked up off-the-scale running stats and some seriously impressive passing metrics.
The midfielder will start against Brighton on Sunday and be tasked with unpicking yet another lock, with the visitors in sensational form.
Fabian Hurzeler's side are unbeaten in their last eight games across all competitions and have scored 21 goals in that period.
Brighton test will be crucial for Florian Wirtz
Liverpool fans have been desperate to see Wirtz rediscover the form he became known for at Bayer Leverkusen.
The 23-year-old notched a combined 34 goals and 33 assists across all competitions in his final two seasons for the German club, ultimately encouraging the Reds to break the bank.
But even with Wirtz seemingly finding his feet in recent weeks, there are still concerns that his form could be a flash in the pan.
Liverpool will face plenty of more difficult opponents than LASK and Villarreal, and much of the German's good work against Brentford came when they had gone down to 10 men.
The visit of Brighton will provide a true test of Wirtz's form, with the Seagulls representing an in-form team with a strong midfield.
Should he let the game pass him by, in many eyes, the big-money man will be back to square one.
What has Andoni Iraola said about Wirtz?
All that Iraola can do is continue to believe in Wirtz and back him to perform. Judging by the Spaniard's comments, that he is exactly what he intends to do.
"I’m delighted with Florian. His performances over the last three matches have been very good, and I hope this is the beginning of him finding his confidence again," he said on Friday.
"We believe in him a great deal. People tend to judge him in terms of goals and assists. That isn’t going to be his greatest strength.
"He’s not a number 10 or a second striker who’s going to score 15 goals this season. If he can help us with goals, that’s even better. But he gives us a great deal of control over matches.”
Given Liverpool's outlay, some would say the least fans would expect is a heap of goals, and 15-plus doesn't seem wildly optimistic for a number 10.
Maybe Iraola is trying to rein in expectations, or keep the pressure off his playmaker-in-chief, but Wirtz is certainly expected to deliver against the top sides and not just the mediocre ones.