Florian Wirtz' Liverpool record compared to other €100m+ signings

0 goals & assists 

It hasn't been the dream start that Florian Wirtz would have been hoping for at Liverpool to date. The Reds splashed out an, at the time, Premier League-record fee of €125 million to bring the German to Anfield this summer. Due to the huge price-tag, there were of course high expectations. Whilst he has shown glimpses of his obvious quality, the German has struggled to have an impact on games and looks to be finding it difficult to adjust to the physicality of the Premier League. Whilst Liverpool were winning games (often somewhat fortuitously) Wirtz was escaping mass criticism, but if they now continue to drop points, as they have done in their last two matches, the pressure will crank up on the playmaker.

Zero goals and zero assists in his first eight games in the Premier League and the Champions League is far from ideal, but it was always going to take him a while to adjust to the new league and the new team. Because of the fee and expectation however, fans and media won't spare him too much time. Here at Transfermarkt, we have compared his numbers to each of the other 13 attacking players who cost €100m or more in their first eight matches in all competitions at their new clubs. When you break the €100m barrier, instant results are often expected.

Florian Wirtz's start compared to other €100m+ signings

Both Kylian Mbappé and Neymar made instant impacts at Paris Saint-Germain following their mega money moves to the French capital. The former managed 16 goal contributions in his first eight matches, whilst the Brazilian clocked up 15. Jude Bellingham accumulated nine goal contributions in his first eight matches at Real Madrid, whilst Gareth Bale managed eight following his move to the Santiago Bernabéu from Tottenham. Cristiano Ronaldo registered eight goal contributions in his first eight Juventus matches after moving from Los Blancos. German Kai Havertz clocked up six combined goals and assists at Chelsea, whilst Antoine Griezmann managed five at Barcelona despite the move eventually not working out.

Romelu Lukaku clocked just four goal contributions upon his lucrative return to Chelsea, whilst Jack Grealish and Eden Hazard managed the same amount after their moves to Manchester City and Real Madrid respectively. Neither João Félix's move to Atletico Madrid nor Philippe Coutinho's transfer to Barcelona were a success, but the pair both managed at least three goal contributions in their opening eight matches. Ousmane Dembélé got just two after his move to Barca. As illustrated in the graphic above, that leaves Wirtz bang at the bottom as the only €100m+ attacking player to not manage a single goal or assist in his first eight games. It's early days - Wirtz needs much more time to truly judge him, but as pointed out, the huge fee, which admittedly is out of the player's control, means expectations soar.