Liverpool are not messing about this summer.
The Reds have all but wrapped up a deal for Jeremie Frimpong as Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s replacement and now have other targets in their sights.
Their raid on Bayer Leverkusen appears to not be over, with links to attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz growing stronger over the past few days.
Liverpool and Bayern Munich to enter €150 million showdown for Wirtz
Wirtz has garnered a lot of attention in the past two seasons as he became a pivotal part of Xabi Alonso‘s Bayer Leverkusen. He was the Bundesliga Player of the Season as they completed an invincible title winning campaign and has registered 69 goal contributions across all competitions in the last two campaigns.
The 22-year-old is ranked at no.3 in FourFourTwo’s list of the best attacking midfielders in the world right now and appears to be the centre of a transfer saga involving Bayern Munich and Liverpool.
Two significant updates from German outlets have highlighted just how strong Liverpool’s interest is in Wirtz.
Kicker suggest that Bayern Munich ‘fear Liverpool’ in the battle to secure Wirtz’s signature and both clubs are going to go all out to try and add him to their squads ahead of next season.
The report also suggests that the meeting Wirtz and his family held with Liverpool last week impressed them greatly.
Reliable journalist Christian Falk has reported that Michael Edwards, Liverpool’s current chief executive of football held a meeting with FSG, Liverpool’s owners, in order to sign off on the funds to complete a transfer for the German international.
Bayer Leverkusen value their academy graduate at €150 million (£126 million) which would not only blow Liverpool’s record transfer out of the window, but the Premier League‘s as well.
Virgil van Dijk is still Liverpool’s most expensive player ever, while Enzo Fernandez, holds the Premier League record at €121 million.
Bayern remain confident in the race for Wirtz for this reason, even a slightly reduced fee would mark a significant change in Liverpool’s transfer policy.
Whilst a move to another club is possible, reports suggest that Manchester City have pulled out and Real Madrid won’t be making a move for the German this summer.
In FourFourTwo‘s opinion, where Wirtz ends up is impossible to call. He has supposedly made Bayern Munich a promise that he will join them, however he may have had his head turned by Liverpool in the past week or so.
As for whoever signs him, it will be a real statement of intent. Liverpool would be adding top quality to an already exceptional midfield, while pairing Jamal Musiala and Wirtz together at club level feels a no brainer for the German champions.
