Liverpool's transfer plan this summer went bigger than Florian Wirtz. The Reds are close to breaking their transfer record for the German star.
Liverpool hope to close a deal for Florian Wirtz before long. The Reds have pushed forward on a club-record transfer with Bayer Leverkusen.
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And that's a shock. Liverpool weren't supposed to be in the running for Wirtz, with Bayern Munich thought to be absolutely certainties to sign him.
After all, the Bundesliga champions essentially have a first option on all elite German talent. That's how it seems, at least.
But Wirtz chose Liverpool. He rejected Bayern Munich and Manchester City, who wanted a replacement for Kevin De Bruyne.
Wonderful news for Liverpool, then, who have surprised everyone with a move of this scale. However, it appears they planned to go even bigger.
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Florian Wirtz x Rayan Cherki
France-based broadcaster Matt Spiro claims Liverpool had a pretty incredible plan. He suggests the Reds tried to sign both Wirtz and Rayan Cherki this summer.
Certainly, he's not the first to report that Liverpool wanted Cherki. The Athletic claimed last week that Arne Slot flew to France to discuss plans with the French playmaker.
Ultimately, Cherki chose Manchester City over the Reds but it appears Liverpool had a grand plan of signing both no.10s for next season. That naturally draws up many more questions: how would they play together? Would the formation change? Who makes way? Who plays where?
And we're also disappointed that it won't happen - but not surprised. Wirtz was always the main target over Cherki and the Frenchman would understandably prefer to have more of a starring role at City.
Still, we can't help but admire the ambition here. Liverpool tried to make something very special happen and fell just short of it.
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So that leaves another interesting question: What's the plan from here?