- Manchester United big-money signings get more scrutiny
- Lack of criticism of Florian Wirtz is telling
- Nobody wants to admit the German has flopped
Imagine Florian Wirtz signed for Manchester United for £116m and stuttered his way through a debut season. The German attacker was supposed to become the Premier League’s most exciting playmaker when he joined Liverpool.
That remains Bruno Fernandes, who has enjoyed the best campaign of his United career thus far. He is playing his football like an £100m+ player.
The same can’t be said for Wirtz, who hasn’t got going at Anfield, but the usually brutal English media aren’t quite getting their pitchforks out. His latest dissapointing outing saw him go into hiding in a 2-0 loss away to Paris Saint-Germain last night.
Wirtz Woes Being Swept Under Carpet
Wirtz joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen last summer and initially became the most expensive player in English football history. The Merseyside giants broke their transfer record to bring the 22-year-old to the Premier League.
Jurgen Klopp once claimed that the club “couldn’t compete” with the riches of Manchester City and Newcastle United. But their transfer business last year made that suggestion a mockery.
Wirtz’s arrival was an exciting one, meant to take Arne Slot’s team to the next level. Some even envisioned the defending champions to reign supreme in European and domestic competitions.
Yet that hasn’t happened, and for some reason, Wirtz has been getting off lightly with each passing poor performance. When it’s looked like he’s turning a corner, he’s faltered, but the usual argument has been ‘he needs time’ or ‘Slot isn’t playing to his strengths.’
If you are a £100m+ player, it shouldn’t need to take time, nor should it require a certain system for you to shine. United fans have seen many expensive acquisitions immediately put under the spotlight, including Antony and Rasmus Hojlund.
The level of protection that Wirtz has received is bizarre, especially compared with Paul Pogba, who was constantly victimised by Liverpool’s club legend Graeme Souness. It goes to show just how much more pressure comes with a move to Old Trafford than to Anfield.
Wirtz has appeared 27 times in the league this season, posting four goals and three assists. That is, quite frankly, a shocking contribution from a player who racked up 10 goals and 13 assists in the Bundesliga last season.
The Cunha Example
There was arguably more criticism thrown at Matheus Cunha during the first half of the season. The Brazilian couldn’t replicate the heights of his Molineux spell that earned him a £62.5m move to United.
Cunha has silenced his doubters with superb displays since Michael Carrick replaced Ruben Amorim in January. But even just one good Wirtz performance seems to let him off the hook.
It’s a real indictment of how players are perceived when making a big-money move to the Theatre of Dreams. The rest of English football want to see them fail.
