Liverpool may have just had the path to Florian Wirtz cleared after Manchester City withdrew from the race to sign the Bayer Leverkusen star this summer.
Wirtz looks set to be one of the most sought-after players in the world over the next few months. The German international has already been linked with the Reds, City, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich as Europe’s powerhouses eye up a potential deal.
The 22-year-old could be just one of a number of names departing Leverkusen this summer. Already, Liverpool looks to be on the verge of signing his teammate Jeremie Frimpong, while Xabi Alonso is set to take over from Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid.
Wirtz’s future is yet to be decided though, although it seems there is at least one less team in the race for his signature now.
According to BBC Sport, City has withdrawn its initial interest in Wirtz, owing to fears over the “soaring costs” of any potential deal.
It’s claimed that signing Wirtz would represent the biggest deal in City’s history, reaching as much as $337 million (€300M) including transfer fees and wages.
(Image: Getty Images)
City is worried that the deal has been over-inflated, which may well prove to be a concern for Liverpool as well. For the time being though, the Reds may have just had the door opened to them to make a decisive move.
As Liverpool.com has previously reported, there is interest in Wirtz coming from Anfield, although recent reports of the player flying to England to meet the club’s officials were wide of the mark.
It is expected that Wirtz will stay in Germany this summer, with his agent – and father – having previously indicated that will be the case. That may well leave Bayern Munich as the favorite to sign him, although the club’s director Uli Hoeness refused to comment on recent speculation regarding his club’s pursuit.
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“What can I tell you now?” Hoeness said at the weekend.
“You’ve been writing nonsense for weeks about him going to Manchester City, even though he was at Liverpool.
Liverpool.com says: Well, that’s one team of the way. You’d have to say though, that is a lot of money for just one player.
Wirtz would be a real coup for Liverpool, but the fact is he’s playing in a position that is well down on the list of the priorities for the Reds this summer. Jamie Carragher might want Dominik Szoboszlai replacing, but there wouldn’t be many fans who would have an issue with the Hungarian starting again next season.
Before Liverpool can consider signing a new No.10, it needs to bring in a new right-back and left-back, which it looks well on the way to doing, as well as a new striker. The last of those will be the trickiest, but it absolutely needs to be the priority, which makes signing Wirtz a lot less likely.
