Andoni Iraola reaches decision on selling Florian Wirtz from Liverpool
Liverpool manager Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola does not want to sell Florian Wirtz, according to a report, as former Anfield star Vladimir Smicer gives his verdict on whether the Reds should offload the attacking midfielder to Bayern Munich.
Wirtz has been largely underwhelming since his £116million move to Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025.
The 23-year-old Germany international attacking midfielder has scored only seven goals and provided just 11 assists in 55 matches in all competitions for Liverpool so far in his career.
Wirtz had another poor game for Liverpool at the weekend, as Iraola’s side beat Bournemouth 1-0 at the Vitality Stadium in the Premier League.
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher is among the pundits who have hammered Wirtz since.
Patience is running thin with Liverpool fans regarding Wirtz.
TEAMtalk’s transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, reported on September 13 that Bayern Munich are keen on Wirtz.
Sources have told us that Bayern are ready to pounce, should Liverpool decide to offload the German star.
The Bundesliga champions wanted to sign Wirtz in the summer of 2025 before he moved to Liverpool.
We understand that while there are some at Liverpool who have concerns about Wirtz, the Merseyside outfit have no immediate plans to sell the former Bayer star, who won the Bundesliga title with the German club in 2024.
Football Insider has backed our claim about Liverpool’s desire to keep Wirtz.
The report has claimed that Liverpool manager Iraola is ‘keeping’ Wirtz ‘in his plans’ at Anfield ‘amid rumours of a possible upcoming exit’.
‘Iraola does not want him to leave and is continuing his search to find the system and position that suits Wirtz best’, the report further said.
Journalist Pete O’Rourke further added: “They’re still relying on him.
“I don’t think there are any plans on Liverpool’s end to offload Florian Wirtz anytime soon.
“I don’t think they’re ready to write him off just yet.
“He was very impressive in that Champions League win against Atletico Madrid earlier this month as well.
“So look, it’s up to Andoni Iraola to find the best position for him in the team and try and get the best out of Florian Wirtz.”
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Vladimir Smicer wants Liverpool to keep Florian Wirtz
Former Liverpool star Vladimir Smicer has also urged Iraola to keep Wirtz.
Smicer said: “Florian Wirtz’s future? That’s a tough one.
“It’s important to know how Florian is feeling about his time at Liverpool and the Premier League.
“I don’t know if he is happy here but I believe he can still unlock something and still do well for Liverpool.
“He is still very young and would like to see him play well for Liverpool and stay at the club for another few years so for me, at the moment, I wouldn’t sell him to Bayern Munich or anybody else.
“He has more inside him and I think he will probably show it for Liverpool because he’s already been unlucky with some of his passes and other players not scoring goals.
“He is not underachieving if those great passes became assists.
“Some people are expecting a little too much from him, and I think some people are still seeing the fee that Liverpool paid for him rather than the player, and that’s the problem.
“It was the same with Paul Pogba at Manchester United.”
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