Florian Wirtz and his representatives have reportedly held talks with Liverpool in recent days over a potential move
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Florian Wirtz during a Bayer Leverkusen
Florian Wirtz has been linked with a move to Liverpool(Image: Jörg Schüler/Bayer 04 Leverkusen via Getty Images)
Where’s the Wirtz money, John? That's a line that may well doing the rounds on the Liverpool social media scene in the coming days.
On Wednesday it was reported from major German media outlets Kicker and BILD that much-coveted Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz had held meetings with senior Liverpool figures during a trip to England in recent days, with the Reds said to now be in the frame for the 22-year-old’s signature along with Manchester City and Bayern Munich.
That development was enough to send the Reds' social media followers abuzz, with Wirtz one of the most highly-rated players in European football right now, a player with the right profile and having delivered superb numbers in the Bundesliga and Europe since breaking through at Leverkusen in 2020. But will owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) and supremo John Henry commit?
The German international had seemed to be heading to Bundesliga champions Bayern this summer, but with Manchester City’s interest now followed by Liverpool’s, two clubs with plenty of money to put to work this summer for new acquisitions, that now looks less certain.
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Liverpool clinched the Premier League title on April 27 with a 5-1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur. It was their second title of the Premier League era and 20th English title for the Reds. It was also delivered in Arne Slot’s first season in charge.
When Liverpool won the title previously in 2020, the transfer market was flat as many clubs were trying to preserve capital in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. This time around, and with significant funds available and no concerns over breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR), or UEFA’s own squad cost ratio rules, Liverpool, in a market that is buoyant again, will have more surety around spending on the back of major success. They will also be a more appealing proposition to new talent through the success, as well as keeping Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah on board for the ride for another two years.
Multiple reports have stated that Leverkusen will be seeking big money for their star, and understandably so given his deal runs until the summer of 2027 and his age and profile fit what many top clubs seek. The chatter around his fee has been close on the €150m (£126.4m), while analysts at the Swiss-based CIES Football Observatory have pegged it at as much as €129m (£109m).
But how might Liverpool, who have the financial wherewithal to spend big in the market this summer due to their already strong balance sheet and PSR position, success in the Premier League and run in the Champions League, as well as continuous improvement in the commercial aspect of the business, finance such a deal?
Using the figure between Leverkusen’s reported desire to get £126m for their star, and CIES’ £109m top-end figure, a fee of around £115m might be somewhere in the realistic range.
Transfer fees are amortised when it comes to them being accounted for. The guaranteed sum is divided over the length of the contract, which is capped at five years following Chelsea exploiting that loophole in recent years and offering deals of up to nine years. Clubs can still offer players long deals, but the five-year amortisation remains the limit.
Say the guaranteed sum was £115m, Liverpool, for accounting purposes, would have an annual amortisation charge as it appears in the books of £23m for each year of his contract. That can be reduced by the club if they seek to engage the player with contract extensions every couple of years, reducing that cost due to spreading it out over a longer period
Meeting a £23m per year charge can be achieved simply by better player trading, or getting a new commercial partner, even summer concerts deliver around half of that sum to the club.
But Liverpool won’t be paying £23m per season. The way that the money goes to the selling club, in this case Leverkusen, is a matter for the clubs. It is highly unlikely that Liverpool would commit that kind of cash up front, so it will almost certainly be layered in instalments over an extended period of time. That money has to be paid, which is where clubs need to have strong cashflow, which Liverpool have. It’s also worth looking at how transfer debt might impact things.
Liverpool have the lowest transfer debt of any of the ‘big six’ clubs, sitting in 10th on the overall Premier League list for the most recently published 2023/24 financial year. That figure stands at £128m, with £58m of receivables due. That means that the club has plenty of room for manoeuvre, and with departures this summer potentially including Darwin Nunez, they will be able to absorb such an outlay with little issue.
Wirtz won’t come cheap when it comes to wages. Some reports have placed his annual salary just shy of £4m when it comes to wages, and a move to a top club could see that double. But with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s impending departure to Real Madrid freeing up some £10m per year, there is plenty of room to add Wirtz into the mix, especially as the next right back the club signs, which could yet be Wirtz’s Leverkusen teammate Jeremie Frimpong, won’t be commanding wages close to what Alexander-Arnold’s status afforded him.
There will be exits which will reduce the wage bill, but the Liverpool wage bill will almost certainly rise through the market driving wages forward and costly renewals of Salah and Van Dijk, as well as bonuses that will be paid out to players for the title win. Pushing beyond the £400m mark in terms of wage outlay is very possible.
But it is a deal that Liverpool can make happen, and owners FSG have long been opportunistic. But whether such an outlay impacts the ability or desire to spend what is required to strengthen other parts of the squad at a time where it is required remains to be seen. The renewals of Van Dijk and Salah have solved one costly problem, with replacing the calibre of those players being extraordinarily expensive.
Wirtz is a deal that can be done. Attacking players come at a premium, but with age on his side and Liverpool in a strong financial and competitive position, the timing could be perfect.