The fee of 100 million pounds is always accompanied by great pressure. After initial excitement, expectations quickly increased and each performance was scrutinized more closely. Florian Wirtz is clearly feeling that at Liverpool.
Wirtz's talent cannot be denied. The German midfielder had two outstanding seasons for Bayer Leverkusen, contributing to helping this team win the Bundesliga and go deep in the European arena. Liverpool also did not have to pay an unreasonable fee when deciding to spend a large sum of money on him.
However, the new environment brings another challenge. At Leverkusen, Wirtz is at the center of a system built to promote his best qualities. Liverpool does not operate in the same way, while the pressure on a player worth more than 100 million pounds is much greater.
This is also a common problem with "blockbuster" deals. A player can be valued based on potential, performance in previous seasons or competition between many clubs. As the fee increases, expectations also increase.
In the past decade, many blockbuster signings have encountered difficulties after moving to a new environment. Jack Grealish is an example. Manchester City once spent 100 million pounds to bring him away from Aston Villa in 2021. Grealish joined a team with more stars but no longer held the central role as before.
Barcelona also encountered a similar situation with Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann. Joao Felix joined Atletico Madrid for a fee of about 113 million pounds in 2019 but could not maintain his expected position. Neymar, with a 200 million pound deal to PSG, is another case when possessing impressive statistics, but the effectiveness of the investment is still a topic of debate.
The common point is that the transfer fee does not guarantee that a player will immediately be suitable for the new team.
Wirtz is facing a similar challenge. He still has the ability to find space between lines, participate in building attacking situations and create opportunities for teammates. But the number of goals, assists and influence are not commensurate with the expectations for a record contract.
Former center-back Jamie Carragher even believes that Wirtz should not start for Liverpool at his current form. Such criticisms reflect the pressure that the German midfielder has to bear, even though he has just entered the early stages of his journey at Anfield.
Liverpool is also building a very valuable attack. Alexander Isak and Wirtz both exceeded the 100 million pound mark, while Bradley Barcola was brought in with the expectation of becoming an important factor. In the group of new signings, Hugo Ekitike, with a fee of about 79 million pounds, is making a stronger impression.
That further makes Wirtz scrutinized. However, it would be too early to conclude a deal after just over a year. Wirtz is only 23 years old and still has plenty of time to adapt to the Premier League, new teammates as well as tactical requirements at Liverpool.
A player worth 100 million pounds not only has to show his ability. He also has to show that he can make a corresponding impact with the fee that the club spends. Wirtz has not done that at Liverpool, but the story is still very long.
