Why Liverpool Signed £116m Florian Wirtz Over £34m Rayan Cherki

· GiveMeSport

Rayan Cherki could've been playing for Liverpool instead of scoring goals against them for Manchester City.

Rayan Cherki put the final nail in the coffin as Florian Wirtz's Liverpool fell to a 3-0 defeat against Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday.

The two attacking midfielders have had very different careers in the Premier League so far after arriving in the summer of 2025. Cherki has shown his elegance and class, registering eight goals and 14 assists in 39 league appearances. Including a brilliant effort at Anfield.

Wirtz, on the other hand, has struggled to live up to expectations after joining Arne Slot's champions last summer. He cost £116 million, including add-ons, and was expected to hit the ground running.

That hasn't been the case and Wirtz has been outperformed by Cherki, who cost £34 million, to date. At one point, there was reportedly a chance that the Frenchman could've been donning the red shirt now, instead of his German peer.

Since Jurgen Klopp's time at the club, Liverpool have looked to play a high-tempo, front-footed style of football. That requires hard-working players who aren't afraid of putting in plenty of running.

Wirtz, per FotMob, has covered 62.1km in the Premier League this season. That means the German international averages 11.9km per 90 minutes, one of the highest in the English top-flight.

Cherki, meanwhile, covers 11km per 90, with a total 48.2km covered this season. According to Paul Joyce of The Times, Liverpool's recruitment team considered Cherki to be a 'lazy' player, and therefore overlooked the then-Lyon star.

At the time, it was reported that Arne Slot had cut his holidays short to attend a meeting with Cherki in the South of France. The France international was being weighed up as a possible alternative if the Wirtz deal failed to materialise.

"I felt he could be the Kevin De Bruyne that at times got Man City over the line." That was Jamie Carragher's assessment after Liverpool's defeat against Man City.

Manchester City have become an even bigger talking point in world football after their 3-0 win against Liverpool.

Wirtz has yet to live up to those expectations, and the ex-Liverpool defender now thinks he should be dropped by Andoni Iraola. Carragher continued on Sky Sports:

> "I think he needs to come out of the team, I said that last time out and I'm going to say it again," Carragher said on Sky Sports post-match.

> "I said Liverpool played well today for a lot of the game before the [Ryan] Gravenberch red card but they didn't create a chance, so Liverpool have a real problem this season with scoring goals and creating chances and that's what you bought Wirtz for. He's not giving you anything defensively and he's not giving you anything going the other way."

The defender-turned-pundit added: "I don't want anyone to pile in on the lad or have a go but I just think we're justified in saying we need more and we can't wait."

Statistics in this article are courtesy of Transfermarkt. Correct as of 13-10-26.

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