Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City could finish as the top three clubs in the Premier League for a second successive season, and the trio may also be set to battle it out for one of the most coveted young footballers in Europe this summer.
Even with the Reds set to win the top-flight title, a ‘busy summer’ on the transfer front is expected at Anfield over the next few months (David Ornstein), while Jamie Carragher has claimed that FSG may need to make as many as six new signings before the end of August.
One of the positions that the Sky Sports pundit wants to see being strengthened is attacking midfield, and to that end, Richard Hughes reportedly has his eyes on a highly coveted gem from the Bundesliga.
Liverpool keen on Florian Wirtz, but he could cost £100m+
According to CaughtOffside, Liverpool could compete with Arsenal and Man City in the race to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, with the 21-year-old also wanted by Real Madrid and Bayern Munich (the latter are believed to be already preparing an offer).
However, each of those clubs could face an almighty task in trying to prise the Germany international from Xabi Alonso’s side, who want to extend his contract by an extra year to 2028 and are set to demand around €120m to €130m (£103.1m-£111.7m) for the playmaker.
Liverpool unlikely to spend that much on one player, even a class act like Wirtz
Even though Ornstein has outlined that Liverpool’s finances ‘are in good shape’ after three quiet transfer windows – not to mention Anfield’s increased capacity and the prize money from returning to the Champions League – a nine-figure outlay on Wirtz would still require an unprecedented leap of faith from FSG.
The Reds’ two most expensive signings of all time are Virgil van Dijk (£75m) and Darwin Nunez (£64m, potentially rising to £85m with add-ons), so it’d be quite a jump to splash out more than £100m on Leverkusen’s number 10, even though he could justify an enormous fee in the market.
He’s contributed 15 goals and 13 assists this season alone, with an eye-catching 119 goal contributions in 193 games for his current club, all before his 22nd birthday on Saturday week (Transfermarkt); and his manager Alonso has hailed him as a ‘special player’ and a ‘genius’.
As per FBref, Wirtz ranks in the 93rd percentile or better among positional peers in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year for passes made, progressive passes, shot-creating actions and successful take-ons per 90 minutes, while he featured among the top 30% for a host of other underlying performance metrics.
The Leverkusen star would definitely be a majestic signing for Liverpool, not least given the intense competition for his services. Alas, with several positions in Slot’s squad likely to be targeted this summer, it’s hard to envisage FSG allocating a vast chunk of the transfer budget to just one player.
Then again, they were prepared to spend £111m on Moises Caicedo in August 2023…
