The latest on Florian Wirtz's potential move to Liverpool as the Reds look to tie up an agreement with Bayer Leverkusen
Florian Wirtz looks on during the Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund at BayArena on May 10, 2025
(Image: Jörg Schüler/Bayer 04 Leverkusen via Getty Images)
Liverpool are confident of agreeing a deal with Bayer Leverkusen to make Florian Wirtz the most expensive player in Anfield history this summer.
The Reds have been in talks with Leverkusen over Wirtz and his team-mate Jeremie Frimpong over the last couple of weeks, with the latter's £30m release clause smoothing the path for a switch to Merseyside, which has yet to be confirmed but is understood to be close.
However, having made it clear to Wirtz and his entourage that the Premier League champions would be at the front of the queue if he felt his next move was served away from the Bundesliga, German champions Bayern Munich were forced to concede defeat last week having seen Manchester City throw in the towel days earlier.
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Talks of 'formal discussions' with the German side have been played down by Anfield officials, given the conversations that had already been ongoing about Wirtz and Frimpong - whose move to Liverpool is further along than his colleague - but there is a determination to bring the 22-year-old to England and secure what would represent a statement signing for the Premier League champions.
Leverkusen sources have remained tight-lipped on how far along the negotiations are with the Reds but Wirtz has his heart set on a move to Merseyside and Bayer will reluctantly look to facilitate the wishes of the versatile attacking midfielder, seeing a switch to England as preferable over losing him to Bundesliga rivals Bayern.
Liverpool's sporting director Richard Hughes will lead the negotiations and there is full confidence in the Scot to strike the biggest deal of all time on Merseyside. The Anfield chief was described to the ECHO as "the best in the business" by club sources this week and there is a growing belief that terms can be reached.
"There's no question that there's a lot of interest," Leverkusen's sporting director Simon Rolfes said at the top of the week. "There's a lot being written. Some things are true, some things are certainly not true in the last few weeks.
"And that's why we'll see, because that's an open topic with Florian that there's also concrete interest from Liverpool, that's clear, but at the moment, there's no further status."
The opening of the transfer window on Sunday, for a 10-day trading period, has been orchestrated to help those involved in the revamped and expanded Club World Cup in the United States, but Liverpool want to find an agreement sooner rather than later.
There is likely an acceptance, however, that the size of the transfer - at around the £125m-mark - means there may be some negotiation to be had before hands can be shaken with a Leverkusen side who have appointed former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag as Xabi Alonso's successor.
The eventual fee for Wirtz will smash the club's £75m record paid to Southampton for Virgil van Dijk in January of 2018 and will also comfortably exceed the £85m that was agreed for Darwin Nunez, inclusive of add-ons, in the summer of 2022 from Benfica.
The Reds paid an initial £64m for the Uruguay international across a six-year contract, with a further £21m of additional fees that ranged from appearance-based sums to winning the Premier League and Champions League. A similarly structured negotiation might be forthcoming to bring Wirtz to Merseyside.
It had been initially thought by Anfield sources that the playmaker would remain in Germany at either Leverkusen or Bayern, but having won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double 12 months ago, before finishing as a runner-up this term in Alonso's last campaign in charge, the 22-year-old has now opted for a change of scenery.
Wirtz, who scored 10 goals and created 12 assists, was recently named Bundesliga player of the year and his family informed Bayern of his intentions on Friday.
Speaking last Saturday at a fan-festival at Bayern Park, club president Herbert Hainer said: "Max Eberl (sporting director) informed me that Florian Wirtz is probably leaning towards Liverpool. I can’t say how things will continue with Leverkusen."
Wirtz is represented by his father, Hans, and having taken some time to decide on his next move at the end of the Bundesliga campaign with his parents, it is Liverpool who have come out on top ahead of rubber stamping a deal with Leverkusen.
It was reported last week in German media how inaccurate claims that an agreement with Bayern had been reached caused 'great irritation' for the Wirtz family as they mulled over the decision.
Leverkusen had been hopeful of keeping him at the BayArena for next season but having been informed of Wirtz and his family's career decision, talks are now expected to ramp up further as Liverpool look to conclude proceedings.
"You can look at it from different points of view," said Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann last week, revealing that Wirtz had reached out for advice on the situation, "In the end every player has to decide for himself.
"It's not official, but if it's Liverpool, then it'd be a very good step because he can play in his position, a great environment, great club. Bayern wouldn't have been a bad option either.
"It would've been good to have them (Wirtz and Jamal Musiala) playing together, but Jamal and Flo can get on well together even if they're not at the same club. The most important thing is that he plays and continues to develop. If he feels that he would be better off at Liverpool, then he has to do it."
It's thought the player's former club, FC Koln, will be due around 1.5% of any transfer fee, which could be a Premier League record, and Ten Hag, speaking at his unveiling on Monday, revealed his excitement at rebuilding a squad that has already lost vaunted coach Alonso and influential defender Jonathan Tah, who has joined Bayern on a free transfer.
Ten Hag said: "We have to build a new squad and a new team. It's a fantastic process that I'm looking forward to with a lot of enthusiasm. I’ll work with the players who are available on 1 September.”
It's been reported how Arne Slot's tactical blueprint for Wirtz tipped the scales in Liverpool's favour compared to Vincent Kompany's at Bayern, particularly given the wealth of attacking options already at the Belgian's disposal in the likes of Musiala, Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sane, Serge Gnbary and Michael Olise dovetailing with England captain Harry Kane.
Speaking about Wirtz in his final press conference as Leverkusen boss, former Reds midfielder Alonso said: "Flo is one of the top players in the world. He is world-class. Flo has a very mature mind. The people around him, his parents, they want the best for him.
"They are in a very important moment of his career. Whatever he does, I am really close to Flo, and I will be happy for him. Let's wait a little bit. It's normal in football that there are rumours, especially with such a special player."
Wirtz is currently enjoying an end-of-season holiday in Corsica but will be part of the Germany squad that meets Portugal on June 4 in the UEFA Nations League semi-final.