New Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili has shown his enthusiasm for the club’s potential transfer activities by liking a social media post about the Reds’ interest in Bayer Leverkusen ace Florian Wirtz.
Reports on Wednesday indicated that Arne Slot’s team had reached out to the German international’s agents regarding a potential summer switch, though Liverpool.com has reported this is not the case. According to the ECHO, Liverpool is gearing up for a transfer tussle with heavyweights Manchester City and Bayern Munich for the 22-year-old.
If Wirtz does end up signing for Liverpool, he’ll be joining the Georgian keeper Mamardashvili at Anfield. He inked a deal with the Reds last summer, although his transfer will only be finalized in the upcoming window.
Mamardashvili has already hinted at where his loyalties lie through his activity on Instagram. He liked a post from the account 433, which stated: “Liverpool have contacted Florian Wirtz’s camp over a potential move to England, per @davidornstein.”
Liverpool has long admired Wirtz. However, with Bayern Munich looming large, it’s anticipated that the playmaker is likely stay in Germany, whether that means a move to Bavaria or remaining at Leverkusen.
Jeremie Frimpong is another Leverkusen player that Liverpool could buy. He has a $39 million (£30 million) release clause, which, if activated, would make the Bundesliga side powerless to stand in his way.
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However, Leverkusen moved to play down talk that a move was near yesterday. Today has seen reports emerge, though, that Liverpool is closing in on a deal for the wing-back.
“The rumors surprised me a bit when I started in the football business seven years ago,” Bayer Leverkusen managing director Fernando Carro said earlier this week.
“Gradually, as I’ve spent more time here, there are always different interested parties, there are different parties, there are different relationships.
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“It’s actually quite difficult to determine where the rumours originate from. But I must admit, many of them really surprise me.”
This summer is shaping up to be a significant one for the Reds as they aim to bolster their squad in order to successfully defend their title at the pinnacle of English football. Arne Slot will be looking to build on his debut campaign.
German reports suggest that Wirtz could command a fee of around $166 million (£125 million). That would shatter the previous record of $113 million (£85 million) that Liverpool paid to lure Darwin Nunez from Benfica.
Liverpool has made big offers for players in the past, bidding more than $150 million for Moises Caicedo in 2023 before he moved to Chelsea instead. Wirtz would cost even more than the Ecuadorian.
