Bayer Leverkusen have been interested in a number of Liverpool players in the past as the Reds continue to pursue Florian Wirtz
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Florian Wirtz before a Bayer Leverkusen game
Florian Wirtz before a Bayer Leverkusen game(Image: Bayer 04 Leverkusen)
If Liverpool are to sign Florian Wirtz this summer, the German will cost them a club-record fee. Bayer Leverkusen are reportedly set to demand £126m for the highly-sought after midfielder, with such a total smashing the potential £85m the Reds committed to spending on Darwin Nunez when bringing in the Uruguayan from Benfica in the summer of 2022.
The finances involved in any deal have seen Man City cool their long-standing interest in Wirtz. BBC Sport reported earlier this week that they had been put off by ‘the soaring costs’ of any deal.
It had been suggested that any deal to sign the 22-year-old could potentially reach as much as €300m inclusive of transfer fees and wages.
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That has seemingly not put off Liverpool after Anfield bosses made contact with Wirtz’s representatives to confirm their interest. BILD's Head of Sport, Christian Falk has since reported that the Reds are accelerating their interest in the 22-year-old.
While Man City have withdrawn from the race, Liverpool would still have to go head-to-head with Bayern Munich to land Wirtz’s signature. And they do so having expected the playmaker to remain in Germany by joining the Bavarians or staying put at Leverkusen.
Bayern would have to beat their own current transfer record of €100m when signing Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2023 if they were to successfully lure Wirtz to the club.
But they would also have to contend with reluctant sellers. While Leverkusen have been resigned to selling star players in the past, they have managed to avoid selling to Bayern Munich for over 20 years.
The last player they lost to their rivals was Lucio in 2004 as the Brazilian departed for €12m. Two years prior, they reluctantly sold both Ze Roberto and Michael Ballack to Bayern for €12m and €6m respectively.
Since then Leverkusen have lost a plethora of star names with the likes of Kai Havertz, Moussa Diaby, Heung-min Son, Julian Brandt, Andre Schurrle, Dimitar Berbatov and Arturo Vidal all moving on to other big names across the continent over the years.
But while Bayern are famed for snapping up the best players from across the Bundesliga in order to stay ahead of the opposition, famously luring a number of Jurgen Klopp’s successful Borussia Dortmund to Bavaria, they have been unable to do so when it comes to Leverkusen for over 20 years.
Such a trend could offer Liverpool encouragement as they continue to pursue Wirtz. But the Reds could also potentially sweeten any deal for Leverkusen - having already negotiated with them as they close in on the signing of Jeremie Frimpong - beyond just ensuring their star player is at least not facing them in the Bundesliga.
Leverkusen were one of the sides interested in signing Tyler Morton last summer, making a loan bid for the £20m-rated midfielderonly for Liverpool to decide to retain the 22-year-old as midfield cover.
Meanwhile, it has been speculated that, after losing Jonathan Tah - who could ironically join Bayern Munich when his Leverkusen contract expires - they are one of the Bundesliga sides who are reportedly interested in signing Jarell Quansah.
Despite it being reported that the defender remains part of Slot’s first team plans heading into next season, he continues to be linked with a move away. Consequently, only time will tell if such a resolve is tested this summer.
If Liverpool were to be tempted into selling Quansah though, he would not come cheap. For comparison, they received £25m when selling the 22-year-old Sepp van den Berg to Brentford last summer. At the time he was yet to make a Premier League appearance, though was coming off a strong season on loan at Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga.
In contrast, Quansah is a Premier League winner, has 58 Reds appearances to his name and has been called up by England.
Elsewhere, Leverkusen have also been interested in signing Academy defender Luke Chambers in the past.
Morton is perhaps a more likely departee than Quansah this summer, but if Leverkusen were to still hold interest in any of the aforementioned players, Liverpool could potentially negotiate themselves a discount as a makeweight in any possible deal for Wirtz.
While it remains to be seen if the Reds will be left disappointed in their pursuit of the German, given Bayern's rival interest, the Wirtz transfer saga certainly appears to be one that remains up in the air. And with Liverpool not giving up the fight, in contrast to Man City's own withdrawal, the Premier League champions still have a number of cards left to play.