Fabrizio Romano delivers major Florian Wirtz to Liverpool transfer update as 'first official bid' made
Liverpool are keen to sign Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz in the summer transfer window.
Liverpool have officially lodged a bid for Florian Wirtz, reports suggest.
The Reds are regarded as the frontrunners to sign the Bayer Leverkusen playmaker. Wirtz had long been expected to join Bayern Munich this summer, while Manchester City were also keen.
But Liverpool surprisingly entered the transfer tussle - and moved ahead in the race. Wirtz is regarded as one of Europe’s premium young players, having fired 57 goals and 65 assists fin 197 appearances for Leverkusen. Last term, he was a key player when Die Werkself claimed their maiden Bundesliga title and the DFB-Pokal. This season, Xabi Alonso’s side finished as runners-up to Bayern.
Wirtz latest
Leverkusen value Wirtz at around £126 million. But it has been suggested that they could be persuaded into a cheaper sale to a club outside of Germany. And according to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, the Reds have now lodged a bid in excess of €100 million for the 22-year-old. He posted on X: “Liverpool first official bid for Florian Wirtz in excess of €100m package with add-ons has been received by Bayer Leverkusen. Club to club negotiations underway, restarting today to get the deal done very soon. Wirtz already told Bayer that he only wants Liverpool.”
Liverpool transfer plans
Liverpool are making moves to get their transfer business done early as they aim to defend the Premier League title in the 2025-26 season. It appears that the Reds are close to a double Leverkusen raid, with Jeremie Frimpong closing in on a switch to Anfield for £30 million. Frimpong will fill the void of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who turned down a new contract at Anfield and is poised to join Real Madrid on a free transfer.
Liverpool are also keen to bring in AFC Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez as a successor for Andy Robertson. There are suggestions that Kerkez has agreed personal terms, with the Cherries valuing him at around £45 million.
The Reds return for pre-season training on 8 July and Slot has admitted that he will ideally have his squad in place. Speaking after Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace, he said: “We just want good players and ideally you sign them as soon as you can. 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.”