German legend Markus Babel believes Wirtz has yet to reach his full potential at Liverpool.

In an interview, German legend Babel spoke about Wirtz, who plays for Premier League giants Liverpool, and believes that the German midfielder has not yet lived up to his potential in the Premier League.

The 23-year-old Wirtz joined Liverpool in June 2025. However, Wirtz failed to perform well for a long time in the 2025/26 Premier League season, but still contributed 5 goals and 3 assists for the "Reds" in the Premier League that season, and one goal and 3 assists in the Champions League.

In the 2026/27 Premier League season, Liverpool defeated Bournemouth 1-0 in the fifth round thanks to a goal from Isak, but Wirtz's overall performance still drew a lot of criticism.

German football legend Markus Babel said, "Wirtz hasn't shown his true potential yet, and in fact, this has been going on for over a year, which is starting to worry me. I completely understand that it takes time to adapt to the Premier League because we're talking about almost completely different football environments. So for me, it's normal that he needs time to adapt."

“He kept running on the field, but that was about it. Think about the Wirtz we saw back in Leverkusen, this performance is clearly far from enough.”

Marcus Babel added, "I hope he can truly understand what it takes to play in the Premier League. But for now, he's more like going with the flow than making an impact. Wirtz needs to make more of his mark on the game, but he hasn't done that yet."

Furthermore, Wirtz was selected for the German national team during this international break and has the opportunity to represent the "German Machine" in the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League. It's worth noting that the current German national team manager is none other than Jürgen Klopp, who previously led Liverpool to numerous successes.

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher said earlier, "The only thing Liverpool fans can hope for is that Klopp happens to be the German manager. Klopp is one of the greatest managers in the world. He is often better at inspiring players' potential than most managers, which has a lot to do with his personality. Hopefully, he can help Wirtz bring about positive changes this time."

“It is possible that Klopp and Germany will have a very successful international break, Wirtz will score many goals and provide many assists, and then return to Liverpool with high morale.”

Carragher also said, "The next game is Liverpool against Manchester City. If Wirtz plays a key role in that game, all the previous doubts will disappear, and the situation could very well change because of it."

Image source: Internet