It looks to just be a matter of time now before Florian Wirtz is officially a Liverpool player.
The Reds have now agreed a deal with Bayer Leverkusen that will see the German international complete his move to Anfield in what could end up being a British transfer record. An initial $135.5 million will be paid to the Bundesliga club, with an additional $21.7M potentially coming their way in add-ons.
It’s a real statement of intent from Liverpool after winning the Premier League title, having already secured the signing of Jeremie Frimpong and with Milos Kerkez seemingly the next target. Having beaten Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid to Wirtz, it will be seen as a major coup on Merseyside.
Already, it looks set to be the biggest transfer this summer, and will instantly become one of the Premier League’s most expensive deals of all time once it is confirmed. But where exactly will it rank?
Premier League record transfers
Enzo Fernandez (Benfica to Chelsea) - $139.4M
Jack Grealish (Aston Villa to Man City) - $135.3M
Declan Rice (West Ham to Arsenal) - $134.3M
Moises Caicedo (Brighton to Chelsea) - $133.6M
Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan to Chelsea) - $130.1M
Paul Pogba (Juventus to Man Utd) - $120.9M
Antony (Ajax to Man Utd) - $109.4M
Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig to Man City) - $103.7M
Harry Maguire (Leicester to Man Utd) - $100.2M
Darwin Nunez (Benfica to Liverpool) - $97.9M
*Figures as per Transfermarkt
Before any add-ons are taken into account, Wirtz's move to Liverpool will immediately see him become the second most expensive transfer in Premier League history, sitting just between Enzo Fernandez's move to Chelsea and Jack Grealish's switch to Manchester City.
NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND - MAY 25: Enzo Fernandez of Chelsea celebrates following the team's victory during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest FC and Chelsea FC at City Ground on May 25, 2025 in Nottingham, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez currently holds the record for the most expensive Premier League transfer (Image: undefined via Getty Images)
The current top five are all pretty tightly grouped together, with no deal yet going past the $140M mark, although if Liverpool and Wirtz do reach the threshold for the add-ons included in the deal, they will blow the current record out of the water.
If every add-on is met, Wirtz's deal will set Liverpool back $157.2M, making him $17.8M more expensive than Fernandez.
What should be pointed out is that some of the figures involved may be slightly different to what their true values are. For example, Darwin Nunez's move is listed as having cost Liverpool $97.9M, although recent reports in Portugal have suggested it may have in fact been around $96.7M.
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In any case, Wirtz is certainly going to be among the most expensive Premier League deals of all time, and should he overtake Fernandez, that will almost certainly mean he's been a success at Liverpool.
Liverpool.com says: That top 10 list certainly makes for interesting reading. It does underline just how big a gamble it can be to spend big money on players, and perhaps why Liverpool hasn't done it as much as some of its rivals.
You only need to look at those three Manchester United players on the list to see how one bad signing can spiral out of control. Chelsea don't come out of that list in a good light either, although Caicedo looks as though he could buck the trend - it's perhaps no surprise then that Liverpool tried to sign him.
Hopefully Wirtz will prove to be much more successful than the majority of those names, and prove to be the game-changing signing Liverpool hopes he will be.