Florian Wirtz says he must decide games for Liverpool

“I have also the expectations for myself to decide games,” Florian Wirtz said, and the line fits where he is right now. Liverpool have used him five times in the Premier League this season, with 403 league minutes already on the clock, and he goes into Sunday’s trip to Bournemouth after sitting out Tuesday’s Carabao Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Wirtz’s own standard

Wirtz’s point was not just about his own output, either. “We need me and the attackers to finish the games off, so we definitely try to work on that,” he said, which is a fair reflection of a Liverpool side that are unbeaten but still not killing enough matches off early.

He also said: “It’s good that we are still unbeaten. For sure we want to have more points at this stage. But I think it’s still a good base to build on – let’s try to keep going like that and get even more points.” That is the part Liverpool will like most. The team are staying unbeaten, but Wirtz is not treating that as a reason to relax around the final ball.

The workload and the transfer noise

There is also the wider noise around him, with reports elsewhere saying Bayern München would appeal if a bid ever came and that Liverpool have no plans to let him go anytime soon. Pete O’Rourke said: “I don’t think there are any plans on Liverpool’s end to offload Florian Wirtz anytime soon.” Vladimir Smicer was even more direct about his long-term view, saying: “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.”

The football side is still the bigger story. Wirtz joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025 for around £116 million, and the early numbers are modest: one league goal contribution in five Premier League appearances, plus a 6.53 league rating. That does not look like a finished version of the player Liverpool paid for, but it does show why he is speaking about deciding games rather than hiding from the demand.

Liverpool go to the Vitality Stadium for Bournemouth vs Liverpool on Sunday, and Wirtz is already talking like the standard around him is much higher than just settling in.