Liverpool have made a substantial €130 million bid for Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz, according to [The Athletic](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6379410/2025/05/30/liverpool-florian-wirtz-transfer-fee/).
The Reds are looking to secure one of Europe’s most promising talents and are prepared to break the transfer record of €85 million they paid to land Darwin Nunez from Benfica.
Wirtz, 22, played a pivotal role in Leverkusen’s historic 2023/24 Bundesliga title win, contributing 11 goals and 11 assists, and was consequently named Player of the Season.
Albeit with a diminished level of collective success last time out, Wirtz also enjoyed another fine individual campaign during the most recent season with 16 goals and 14 assists across all competitions.
Since breaking into the Leverkusen first-team set up in 2020, his performances have been impressive to say the least. It is no surprise he was attracting interest from top European clubs, including Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester City earlier in the window.
However, Liverpool have emerged as frontrunners in the race for his signature over the last couple of days and are now in contact with Leverkusen to negotiate a fee.
Having missed out on multiple targets last season, Liverpool endured a relatively quiet summer window but still romped to Premier League glory with four games to spare.
In a show of ambition, Arne Slot’s side are refusing to rest on their laurels and have been one of the most active clubs in the market so far.
Wirtz is on course to be the second player to depart the Bay Arena for Anfield this summer, alongside Jeremie Frimpong, who is set to replace [new Real Madrid arrival Trent Alexander-Arnold](https://footballtoday.com/2025/05/30/real-madrid-pay-e10m-to-land-alexander-arnold-ahead-of-schedule-for-club-world-cup/).
Liverpool could also complete yet another acquisition from the Bundesliga with Hugo Ekitike also of interest, but any move for the Frenchman is expected to hinge on Nunez’s departure.