Florian Wirtz’s January started with noise and ended with a nomination — and that arc tells you almost everything about Liverpool’s season.

For months, Wirtz looked like a luxury signing who hadn’t found the right speed. He arrived with a huge reputation from Bayer Leverkusen, but the Premier League doesn’t care about reputation. It asks for repeat sprints, contact tolerance, and decision-making under pressure — every three days, in a different kind of chaos. Wirtz took the hit, publicly and physically, and for a while it felt like Liverpool were waiting for the “real” version to turn up.

Now he has. And the league has noticed.

Liverpool’s No.10 has been shortlisted for the EA SPORTS Premier League Player of the Month award for January, with the Premier League confirming an eight-man list that includes Yasin Ayari, Patrick Dorgu, Enzo Fernández, Eli Junior Kroupi, Igor Thiago, Crysencio Summerville, Harry Wilson, and Wirtz.

VOTE FLORIAN WIRTZ FOR THE PLAYER OF THE MONTH HERE

From slow start to sharp edge

The numbers behind Wirtz’s rise are the kind that change how teams defend you. Liverpool have pushed him higher, trusted him longer, and — most importantly — he has started to look comfortable in the most difficult spaces: between the lines and under pressure.

In January league action, he contributed heavily enough to earn the nomination, and his wider form has been trending fast too: Liverpool’s own club update highlighted his recent productivity and influence across matches.

The turning point has been less about a single moment and more about accumulation. In the early months, Wirtz often arrived half a second late to duels, or played one touch too many before releasing the ball. Recently, he’s done the opposite: receive, scan, punch the pass, move again. That rhythm is why he suddenly looks like the player Liverpool thought they bought.

There’s also a tactical truth here: when Liverpool are functioning, the No.10 role is brutal because you’re asked to do everything — connect midfield to attack, press the opposition pivot, and still create in the final third. Wirtz has started doing all three without fading.

Slot’s message: talent wasn’t the issue — adaptation was

Arne Slot has been clear that this wasn’t a “confidence problem” solved by one good game. He framed Wirtz’s improvement as something earned through work and patience — from both player and coach.

Slot’s explanation is blunt and revealing: Wirtz had to do the work “not only on the pitch but also in the gym,” and Slot had to keep playing him even when things looked uncomfortable because minutes are often the only real path to adaptation.

That line matters because it’s the difference between a signing you protect and a signing you build around. Liverpool didn’t hide Wirtz. They kept exposing him to the league until he stopped looking like a visitor.

And the output now looks serious. beIN Sports noted that Wirtz has created 41 chances in the Premier League, a figure only bettered by a handful of top creators. That’s not “flashes.” That’s sustained influence.

The Newcastle performance that pushed the nomination into the spotlight

If you want the headline highlight, it’s the 4–1 win over Newcastle. Wirtz didn’t just pop up with a goal contribution; he ran the game like someone who has finally learned how to control Premier League tempo. The way he found pockets, switched angles, and accelerated attacks made him look like a pressure valve and a trigger at the same time.

Liverpool’s recent run has included high-scoring wins that lifted the mood around Anfield, and Wirtz has been a major reason those performances felt convincing rather than chaotic.

The Ekitike link-up is becoming a real weapon

Here’s where it gets exciting for Liverpool fans: Wirtz isn’t only producing on his own. He’s building chemistry — and the player benefiting most is Hugo Ekitike.

Wirtz has openly praised Ekitike, describing him as a “fantastic” player and admitting he was surprised by how high his level is in training and matches. That’s not empty teammate talk. It’s a sign the relationship is becoming instinctive — the kind of link-up where you don’t need eye contact because you already know the run.

And the stats back it up. Reports around their partnership say the pair have assisted each other multiple times this season, and they are moving toward rare territory for young Liverpool combinations, with only one famous duo in recent history having combined more often in a single campaign while aged 23 or under.

That’s how you shift from “good form” to “defining partnership.” When your creator and your striker start trading goals like it’s routine, defences stop focusing on stopping one player — because the other one punishes them.

What the nomination really means

Player of the Month nominations can be noisy. Sometimes they reward a hot streak, sometimes they reward narrative, and sometimes they reward the simple truth that a player has dragged his team through a tricky month.

For Wirtz, it’s a bit of all three. He’s been productive, he’s been influential, and he has flipped the storyline from “price tag problem” to “Premier League problem” — for everyone else.

The more important point is what comes next. Liverpool’s season still has pressure written all over it, and Slot still needs results. But with Wirtz now looking settled and confident, Liverpool suddenly have something they’ve lacked: a genuine control-and-chaos player in the middle — someone who can slow the game down, then break it open in the next touch.

If January was the month Wirtz arrived, February is the month he has to prove it wasn’t a cameo.