Liverpool boss Arne Slot. (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)Liverpool boss Arne Slot. (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Liverpool boss Arne Slot. (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
Liverpool are making some major moves in the transfer market as they look to defend their Premier League title
The Reds won the title with four games to spare but Arne Slot does not appear content to be a one-time Premier League-winning manager with the club’s summer transfer business already in full swing.
The window does not open until June 1, before closing on June 10 and re-opening once again in mid-June. A deal appears all-but done to sign Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen after his £29m release clause was activated and after the Dutchman reached an agreement on a five-year deal. He has also completed a medical.
Wirtz opts for Liverpool move - Reds in contact to finalise deal
In a bombshell report, Sacha Tavolieri has reported for Sky Sports France that Leverkusen ace Wirtz has chosen to join Liverpool this summer. The report says that Wirtz personally called Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany to inform him of his desire to move to Anfield.
It has been reported in the German media that Kompany had held intense talks with Wirtz over what he envisioned for him at Bayern. However, the Reds now appear to close to a deal with Wirtz accepting a move to Anfield after an astronomical long-term contract offer worth €20m per year.
The report goes on to say that Liverpool are now in direct contact with Leverkusen to complete an agreement worth an approximate €150m (£126m. It would be a club record and a British transfer record if an agreement was completed. Liverpool are hopeful of getting it over the line by next week.
Wirtz had also been linked with Manchester City and Real Madrid but the two clubs dropped out of the running leaving Bayern and Liverpool as the two main contenders.
Arne Slot keen for sustained success
Liverpool’s squad overhaul is a signal the club and Slot are keen to sustain the success they have enjoyed under the Dutchman this season. Asked about the potential for more trophies next season, Slot said in his pre-Crystal Palace press conference: “I think we have a lot to compete next season again. But what I don't know yet – and that's going to be the interesting one – is if we have this elite mentality, this serial winner mentality, of showing up season after season after season.
“And I think I get the answer already on the 8th of July when we come back together to see what shape the players are [in]. Because many teams have won the Premier League once but not many have won them multiple seasons in a row – and that's for a reason.
“First of all, because it's so difficult. Second of all, that not every player has this elite mentality. When I talk about Mo, it's not a coincidence that he's for seven years already on a certain level and in last season he was the one that was the most fittest when we arrived back after the break. That is a mentality you need to have to have a chance of becoming a serial winner. This is something we have to prove and the players have to prove – and me as well – during the off-season. The first day for me to judge if we have a chance to become serial winners is the 8th of July when I see them back.”
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