Erik ten Hag has taken over as Bayer Leverkusen head coach amid Liverpool’s transfer pursuit of Florian Wirtz.

Erik ten Hag has suggested that it is unlikely Bayer Leverkusen will be able to keep hold of Florian Wirtz this summer as Liverpool aim to close the deal.

The Reds have emerged as frontrunners to sign the exciting 22-year-old this summer. It had been thought that Wirtz was bound to join Bayern Munich after plundering 57 goals and 65 assists in 197 appearances for Leverkusen. Last season, he was instrumental as Die Werkself claimed their maiden Bundesliga title without losing a game along with the DFB-Pokal.

But Liverpool opted to join the race for Wirtz’s signature. And there are suggestions that the Reds leapfrogged German powerhouses Bayern, while Manchester City pulled out of the race are being put off by the financial package it could cost to sign Wirtz. Initial suggestions were that Leverkusen priced him at around £126 million, but there have been reports that Liverpool’s initial bid was in the region of £84 million plus add-ons.

DIe Werkself appear to have come to the end of a golden period and are starting a rebuild. Xabi Alonso, who masterminded the Bundesliga triumph, left his role as head coach to join Real Madrid. Leverkusen have opted to appoint former Manchester United manager Ten Hag as his successor, with his first press conference on Monday.

What’s been said

Ten Hag was asked about Wirtz and called him a ‘super player’ but hinted it’s unlikely he will stay at the Bay Arena. "He's a super player," ten Hag said. "I've watched him and his development with great joy. Whether he'll stay, you never know."

Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rofles has confessed that Liverpool are ‘very interested’ in signing Wirtz, who has two years remaining on his current contract. Rofles said: “He's still our player, but there's understandably a lot of interest in Florian. Liverpool is a team that's very interested in his services, but that's all I can say at the moment.”

Liverpool transfer plans

Liverpool are hoping to complete a double swoop from Leverkusen. The Reds are closing in on the signing of Jeremie Frimpong to fill the void of right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is set to join Real Madrid on a free transfer. AFC Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez is also on the radar of Arne Slot’s side.

Slot admitted after Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Palace that ideally Liverpool will get their signings through the door early as they aim to defend the Premier League title.

“We just want good players and ideally you sign them as soon as you can,” said Slot. “But it's not always easy to sign good players, let alone to sign them early in the window. But this club doesn't start working from today onwards.

“There is so much hard work being done behind the scenes already this season to find out which targets we have and try to sign them. I have all the confidence that if we've addressed the right player that we try to sign that player. But let's see when that's going to happen and if that's going to happen because I'm very happy with the squad we already have.”