The Real Madrid legend played alongside Liverpool target Florian Wirtz for Germany.

Florian Wirtz has been backed to thrive at Liverpool by German legend Toni Kroos.

The Reds are leading the race to sign Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer transfer window. The playmaker is regarded as one of the brightest young talents in Europe, having plundered 57 goals and 65 assists during his Die Werkself career. Last season, Wirtz played an instrumental role as Leverkusen were crowned Bundesliga champions without losing a game, as well as claiming the DFB-Pokal.

The 22-year-old had been expected to stay in his native Germany this summer and make a summer switch to powerhouses Bayern Munich. Manchester City were also keen. But Liverpool opted to enter the transfer race - and have leapfrogged their rivals. There are suggestions that Wirtz has been attracted by Reds head coach Arne Slot and that a bid of around £84 million plus add-ons has been lodged.

Kroos is regarded as one of the best midfielders of all time. During his career, he won six Champions Leagues, four La Ligas and three Bundesliga crowns representing Real Madrid and Bayern Munich as well as the 2014 World Cup with Germany. And Kroos believes that Wirtz is capable of showcasing his quality at any club.

Kroos, who retired last year, said at the Icon League final in Berlin (via bullinews.com): “If he thinks that’s the best next step for him and his career, then that's good. You can technically only judge decisions like this afterwards, of course.

“He [Wirtz] is a player who can prevail at any club in the world in my opinion. It doesn't matter if it would've been Bayern or Liverpool, it's different from being at Leverkusen for sure - but he has all the tools to assert himself at any given top club.”

Like many others, Kroos admitted that he thought Wirtz would be heading to Bayern this summer after spending the past five years at Leverkusen. Kroos added (via Süddeutsche Zeitung): “It was just obvious to everyone that he was going to Bayern. I didn't know that, and in my old way, I didn't believe it at first when someone wrote that.”

Arne Slot has been tight-lipped when asked about Liverpool’s direct summer transfer targets. The Reds are closing in on a double raid from Leverkusen, with Jeremie Frimpong set to arrive for around £30 million to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold. However, Slot has admitted that he wants to make some new additions despite Liverpool being crowned Premier League champions and will ideally have them signed early before the return of pre-season training.

Speaking after the 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace on the final day of the campaign, Slot 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.”