Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz would prefer to join Liverpool than sign for Bayern Munich this summer. That is how the Bundesliga champion feels, according to the latest reports.
However, a fee would still need to be agreed between the Reds and Leverkusen before a deal could happen. It has previously been suggested that the Germany international would cost around $169 million (£126 million).
Liverpool.com reported earlier this month that the Reds believed Bayern Munich was the favorite to sign Wirtz. It did hold an interest, though, and Manchester City is thought to have left the race.
According to The Athletic, Wirtz is “on track” to make the move to Merseyside this summer. The 22-year-old is also said to have made a visit to England to search for houses to live in.
This season, Wirtz has scored 16 goals and assisted another 15 for Leverkusen. Seven of those goal contributions came in nine Champions League appearances.
Bayer Leverkusen has always wanted to sell abroad rather than to a direct rival in the German top flight. Bayern Munich won the title back this season, finishing one place and 13 points ahead of Xabi Alonso’s side.
(Image: Pau Barrena/Getty Images)
Bayern Munich icon Stefan Effenberg took a swipe at Wirtz for his hesitation in deciding his future earlier this week. He labeled the Bayer Leverkusen star’s indecision as “undignified”.
“He has already won everything in Germany,” Effenberg wrote for t-online. “However, I think it’s a shame that there has still been no official statement from the Wirtz side about the direction in which things could go.
“So all sides — clubs, fans, the public — remain in the dark for far too long. This is tiring and not appropriate to the situation.
“If Wirtz, who is supposed to have tended towards Bayern, now suddenly changes his mind again, that would also be a very bad sign. Because that would make it clear that he himself doesn’t really know what he actually wants.”
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“So the question remains open: Where does he actually want to go? This undignified fiddling around doesn’t help anyone, especially not himself. He should finally make up his mind and communicate it openly — it’s for his own good.”
It is still possible that Wirtz could remain with Bayer Leverkusen for another season. If he were to move to Anfield, it is near-certain that he would break the Liverpool transfer record, which is currently the $113 million (£84 million) package that was put together for Darwin Nunez when he arrived from Benfica.
Wirtz played at Anfield earlier this season, when Luis Diaz scored a hat-trick in a 4-0 win for Liverpool. Fellow Leverkusen star Jeremie Frimpong, who could also be signing for the Reds, was also in Alonso’s starting XI that day.
