Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen continue to work towards a resolution as the two sides negotiate the transfer of superstar attacker Florian Wirtz, with the German club valuing the 22-year-old at £125M and a £109M bid from the Reds reportedly rejected recently.
It perhaps shouldn’t come as a shock a deal set to go down as a record English transfer (Enzo Fernández cost Chelsea £106M in 2023) and could surpass the German record (£122M paid to Borussia Dortmund by Barcelona for Ousmane Dembélé) would take a minute.
For Liverpool fans a little concerned about the deal dragging out, the updates have been consistently positive, and the German chatter today has Liverpool having been given clearance by owners Fenway Sports Group to hit that £125M Leverkusen are seeking.
There had been previous speculation that Leverkusen were seeking to bridge the valuation gap by including a Liverpool player in the deal, with the focus on that front landing on attacking midfielder Harvey Elliott, but it appears now a partial player swap is unlikely.
With the total fee potentially ticking up higher than the Reds would like, it’s possible Liverpool could seek to make a larger portion of the fee dependant on performance as a way of protecting themselves while offering an overall package Leverkusen can accept.