Liverpool did not meet Florian Wirtz’s representatives on Tuesday, despite reports from Germany indicating that the player and his parents flew to England and spoke to officials from both Liverpool and Manchester City.
The 22-year-old’s future has been a subject of great intrigue and drama over the last week. Initial reports suggested a summer move to Bayern Munich was all but sewn up, with Xabi Alonso asked about the situation when he confirmed his exit from Bayer Leverkusen on Friday.
“Florian Wirtz didn’t tell me that he only wants to go to Bayern… this is not my information,” the former Liverpool midfielder replied.
Reports at the start of this week suggested a switch to City was then on the cards, with claims the player even traveled to England to meet representatives from the club. The Daily Mail stated Wirtz was in Manchester “for a matter of hours” and did not meet Pep Guardiola.
Meanwhile, fresh reports from Germany emerged on Wednesday claiming that Tuesday’s trip was in fact to meet Liverpool officials rather than those from City. Kicker claimed Liverpool is very much in the race to sign the Germany international, along with Bayern, City and Real Madrid – the latter, of course, being the expected destination of Alonso.
However, Liverpool.com understands Wirtz and his family did not meet anyone from Liverpool this week. The Reds do hold a long-standing interest in the Leverkusen star, who has already amassed nearly 200 appearances for the club, but the expectation is that the player will remain in Germany this summer.
Reports that Leverkusen has an asking price of €150million ($183M) is likely to put off any would-be buyers. Certainly Liverpool is unlikely to be in a position to match that fee.
Sources have also told Liverpool.com that Wirtz did not meet any representatives from City on Tuesday.
It leaves the player’s future up in the air after a whirlwind few days of speculation. Wirtz, who has earned 29 international caps, will enter the final two years of his contract this summer – hence, the intensifying pursuit of the player.
The attacker could potentially play his final Leverkusen game on Saturday when Alonso’s tenure at the club concludes with a trip to Mainz. It may also mark Wirtz’s last appearance in a Leverkusen shirt, in addition to Jeremy Frimpong, who has also been in talks with Liverpool about a possible summer move.
Leverkusen is guaranteed a second-place finish regardless of the score on Saturday, with the side set to end the campaign without silverware. Bayern Munich reclaimed its Bundesliga crown last week and also dumped Leverkusen out of the Champions League in March.
Third-tier Arminia Bielefeld then eliminated Leverkusen from the DFB-Pokal at the semi-final stage. Wirtz missed that game with an injury, but has played 44 times this season, scoring 16 goals and providing 15 assists.
