Pundit Ally McCoist has explained why he thinks Premier League giants Liverpool should reject a move for Florian Wirtz this summer.
Liverpool have enjoyed a great season in Arne Slot’s debut campaign at Anfield, winning their 20th Premier League title with four games to spare.
Slot has got more out of this Liverpool squad than former boss Jurgen Klopp, but club chiefs are already making moves to strengthen this summer.
The Reds are reportedly closing in on a deal to sign a second new defender to join Jeremie Frimpong in moving to Anfield, while they are also pursuing Wirtz.
The Bayer Leverkusen standout has emerged as one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe and it has been suggested that he could follow Xabi Alonso in leaving the Bundesliga outfit this summer.
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Wirtz has 16 goals and 15 assists for Bayer Leverkusen this season and they can demand a massive fee for their prized asset, who is under contract until 2027.
It has been claimed that he could cost as much as £125m this summer and this has put off Man City, who have ‘withdrawn’ from the running to land the 22-year-old.
This seemingly leaves Liverpool and Bayern Munich as the main contenders to sign Wirtz, but McCoist has warned the Reds against a move.
The pundit claims Wirtz’s huge valuation and Liverpool’s need to sign a new striker to replace Darwin Nunez should be enough to put them off.
“Yes, for anybody it is – that’s my argument,” McCoist said on talkSPORT when asked whether he thinks Wirtz is worth his reported price tag.
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“Is he a good player? Yes. Is he a top player? Yes, but straight away if you can get three players at £40m or maybe an £80m and a £40m. Yes, is the answer to the question.
“I think that money could be better spent, I really do.
“Yes, I like him as a player and he’ll make a difference in any side but it’s too much for me, it really is too much.
“I know the market has gone crazy but I still think the priority (should be a striker).”
A report from journalist Graeme Bailey for The Boot Room claims Bayern Munich feel they have the ‘upper hand’ over Liverpool amid the belief that they hold one ‘key advantage’ over the Premier League champions.
This is said to come down to Wirtz’s ‘relationship with Jamal Musiala’.
Bailey explained: “I have spoken to German sources close to the deal and they have told me that Bayern Munich are calm about the situation and remain confident that he will be a Bayern player.
“They are not shocked there is interest from elsewhere but they have been talking to the player for months and in recent weeks believe an agreement is in place.
“It would be a major shock to Bayern if he joined another club, Bayern’s current hierarchy have been brilliant in 2025 in getting deals done. [Alphonso] Davies, [Joshua] Kimmich and Musiala have all signed when it looked like they wouldn’t and now they think Wirtz is next.
“Manchester City were desperate to land Wirtz but have now accepted that he is heading to Munich. Liverpool do have an interest in Wirtz but would only be willing to try and land the player – if he showed and highlighted his desire to move to England ahead of Munich.
“Bayern for their part are waiting on Wirtz to finalise his exit with Bayer and have indicated that they would be willing to wait until 2026 to strike a deal if they had to, although they would rather he joined this summer.”