Florian Wirtz's Fresh Start at Liverpool: A New Season with Iraola

Florian Wirtz has only been back at Liverpool a matter of days, but the picture is already clear in his mind. This season will be different. It has to be.

A fresh start under Iraola

Andoni Iraola has barely had time to settle into his office after replacing Arne Slot at the start of the summer, yet his blueprint for Wirtz is already nailed down. The German will be a pure No. 10, not shunted wide, not used as a tactical plug. Central, between the lines, where he can hurt teams.

Wirtz, for his part, looks energised by the shift.

“I just can say that the training is really fun,” he said, speaking to club media. “I enjoyed every training [session]. We play a lot of games and possessions, and that’s exactly what I like. I just enjoyed it until now.”

The words are simple, but the subtext is obvious: this is football that suits him. High tempo. Lots of the ball. Constant involvement. For a player who thrives on rhythm and short, sharp combinations, Iraola’s early sessions sound like a welcome jolt.

Last season did not deliver what he or Liverpool expected. Seven goals and 10 assists in his debut campaign is a respectable return, but Wirtz does not hide from the broader disappointment.

“Of course I wasn’t happy at all (last year) — about the season, I mean,” he admitted. “I was not unhappy every day when I came to training, but I think we expected much more.”

That line hangs in the air. Expectations. Of himself. Of the team. Of what this project is supposed to be.

“We start from zero”

If last year felt like a false start, this one is being framed as a reset.

“I think we start from zero this season,” Wirtz said. “Also here with this training camp, it’s a new start. We have a lot of things to do better this season and I’m very excited for season two.”

There’s no attempt to dress it up. Liverpool underachieved, and the players know it. The training camp becomes more than just fitness work; it’s a line in the sand. A chance to build something in Iraola’s image, with Wirtz as a central pillar rather than a piece moved around to plug gaps.

The Spaniard’s commitment to using him strictly as a No. 10 is a statement in itself. It tells Wirtz he will be trusted in his natural role. It tells the rest of the squad that the attacking structure will run through him.

Seven goals, 10 assists. That’s the base. The feeling around the camp is that those numbers are a starting point, not a ceiling.

A new face at club level, a familiar legend for country

This season will bring not one new manager for Wirtz, but two. Iraola at Liverpool. And, for Germany, a coach whose reputation already looms large over Anfield.

“It’s very, very cool that [Klopp is] there now,” Wirtz said of Jürgen Klopp taking over the national team. “I’ve not spoken to him yet but a lot of people here at the club told me about him, that he is a fantastic guy. All of Liverpool loves him. So, I’m very excited to meet him in a few months.”

It is a curious twist: the man who became a symbol of Liverpool’s modern era will now shape Wirtz’s international future, just as a new era begins for him on Merseyside under a different voice. The overlap of ideas, demands and expectations between club and country could define his development over the next 12 months.

Isak to lead the line, Barcola in the wings?

If Wirtz is to flourish as a creator, he will need movement and menace ahead of him. Liverpool believe they finally have that, and Iraola has been quick to underline Alexander Isak’s importance.

“I think he has come in a good place,” the Liverpool boss said earlier this week. “I think he was good in the World Cup. I saw him comfortable. First training [sessions] here, I think I’ve seen a good version of Alex.”

Isak’s fitness has often been the caveat attached to his talent. This summer, Iraola wants to strip that caveat away.

“Still, it’s very early because he has just started training, but I hope he can have some minutes against Leeds and build properly a proper pre-season,” he added. “It’s not going to be very long but he will have three or four weeks of quality training, I hope, and we can put him in a good place because he is going to be massive for us this season.”

A fully firing Isak, with Wirtz feeding him from the No. 10 pocket, changes the whole feel of Liverpool’s attack. The prospect of Bradley Barcola arriving from PSG to take a wing role only sharpens that sense of possibility, even if a deal still needs to be struck.

Suddenly, the structure makes sense: Wirtz pulling strings, Isak stretching defences, pace and width outside. The kind of platform that turns seven goals and 10 assists into something far more imposing.

Season two, with everything on the line

For now, it is only pre-season. Small-sided games, possession drills, double sessions under the sun. But within those early days, you can already see the outlines of Liverpool’s plan.

A new coach. A reset dressing room. A No. 10 who feels trusted, central, and ready to prove that last year was just the warm-up.

Wirtz calls it “starting from zero”. The real question is how far he and Liverpool can climb from there.