Liverpool had recently offered a package of up to £113 million for Florian Wirtz, an offer which consisted of £100 million guaranteed and £13 million in potential add-ons. This deal, should it be maximized, would have come to €134 million, which remains significantly lower than the German club’s initial asking price of €150 million (£126 million).
Bayer Leverkusen are hopeful of getting an improved deal from the Merseyside club, with Paul Joyce of The Times suggesting a compromise offer might be accepted.
Given Wirtz’s stated interest in joining Liverpool, having rebuffed Bayern Munich, the hope is that both clubs will come to an agreement soon, with the saga beginning to drag on.
On the rumors side, the noise is for everyone to calm down. German source of many of the flurries of rumors, Florian Plettenberg of Sky Sports Germany, has tweeted on Sunday morning that a deal is “very close,” and that things could accelerate very quickly — including a medical — in the coming week. The rumored number for a compromise is £118 million, though it’s unclear on the breakdown of bonuses and actual fee. Liverpool will prefer a bonus-heavy offer, given it would only raise the expenses given a level of success.
It’s unclear how much Wirtz’s fee will affect other transfer prospects, though it appears evident that Richard Hughes is currently negotiating with Bournemouth to bring down the southern club’s £45 million asking price for defender Milos Kerkez.