Bayern Munich defender Jonathan Tah has hinted Florian Wirtz tried to persuade him to join Liverpool this summer
Liverpool attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz.
Liverpool attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz.(Image: Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Jonathan Tah has hinted Florian Wirtz tried to persuade him to join Liverpool this summer. The Germany international, who would have been out of contract, joined Bayern Munich in an €800k deal from Bayer Leverkusen back in May, with the Bundesliga champions paying a small fee in order for the defender to be released early to represent them at the FIFA Club World Cup.
The 29-year-old is one of a number of high-profile Leverkusen exits this summer, with Wirtz moving to the Reds in a club-record deal worth up to £116m.
Liverpool also signed Jeremie Frimpong from Leverkusen after activating his £29.5m release clause, while Odilon Kossounou, Granit Xhaka, Lukas Hradecky and Armine Adli have departed for Atalanta, Sunderland, Monaco and Bournemouth respectively.
The Reds pulled off something of a transfer coup, luring Wirtz to Anfield in particular, with Bayern Munich previously considered the favourites for his signature while Man City were also interested in the German.
Tah is set to make his Bundesliga debut for Bayern on Friday night against RB Leipzig, after helping them win the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup last weekend by beating VfB Stuttgart.
He was recently asked whether he had attempted to persuade Wirtz to join him at Bayern Munich, with the German hinting that transfer conversations with his former Leverkusen team-mate were actually concerning whether the defender would move to Anfield.
“I don't want to give too much away,' he told Kicker. “Maybe he was also courting me at times because I wasn't sure what was next either. We both made our decision, that's good, that's exactly how it should be.”
Meanwhile, Frimpong recently revealed that he had also spoken with Wirtz about moving to Liverpool prior to the Reds making concrete moves for the pair.
“Sometimes, towards the end of the season when there was speculation, we would talk about it, ‘Imagine we both go there,” he admitted to the club website. “And then obviously we’d be like, ‘Yeah, that would be nice, right?’ But it was never planned.
“That’s my boy. I’m pretty sure you know how good he is, you’ve probably seen him. When we won the league [at Leverkusen], he was a big part of the team.
“He’s always there in big moments, he always shows up. I don’t need to say any more, you guys know how good he is.”