Paul Merson names Liverpool star who can 'destroy' teams - 'Cream rises to the top'

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Paul Merson has been impressed by Liverpool star Florian Wirtz in recent games, with Arne Slot's men seeing an upturn in form since drawing 3-3 with Leeds in December

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson.(Image: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)

Paul Merson says Florian Wirtz is starting to show his true quality at Anfield — there was, after all, a reason that the Reds went so big on the attacking midfielder in the summer.

In his last outing, Wirtz netted his first goal for Liverpool, scoring against Wolves. He has slowly been integrating into life in the Premier League and has helped the Reds improve their performances in recent weeks.

"This (Leeds) is a difficult game for Liverpool, but they will be buoyed by Wirtz finally scoring his first goal for the club," Merson, the former Arsenal star, wrote in his column for Sportskeeda.

"You don’t pay that amount of money for someone who can’t play football. He needs space, and if he gets it, he can destroy teams. The cream always rises to the top and we’re seeing it with Wirtz in recent weeks."

Wirtz could cost Liverpool up to $157 million (£116 million) including add-ons. At Bayer Leverkusen, he was a key man for Xabi Alonso as they won the Bundesliga together in 2024.

"He's the only one who could answer that question," Slot said after Wirtz scored against Wolves, as he was questioned on whether the player has now adapted to English soccer.

Florian Wirtz in action during the Premier League game between Liverpool and Wolves.(Image: Simon Stacpoole/Offside via Getty Images)

"I can only answer from my experience being an old man, or at least much older than him! The first few months in a different country — because it was also my first experience going abroad — it's different.

"Your life is a bit upside down and that for a manager is probably not the biggest problem because I don't have to perform on the pitch, but I could fully understand that some individuals and some players need a bit of time to adapt off the pitch as well.

"The biggest adaptation if you come from abroad is this league and how intense it is, because again [against Wolverhampton Wanderers] I think even when we play once a week you could see that Hugo [Ekitike] had cramp after 70 or 75 minutes.

"I didn't take Florian out because he played bad, I took him out because he was hardly able to keep on running anymore.

"That has also been the situation with him but also that tells you about the new players that we've brought in and how big of a step it is to adjust to these intensity levels."

Liverpool.com says: Wirtz is such a good player to watch and there is no doubt that he will work out at Anfield. The German has so much talent and he is starting to get up to speed now.

It feels like a proper breakout performance is just around the corner for Wirtz. It could even come against Leeds today.