Florian Wirtz is the latest high-profile name to be linked with a move to Liverpool via reliable reports in Germany, with claims he and his family flew in for talks.
Wirtz, a 22-year-old attacking midfielder who has thrived since breaking through at Bayer Leverkusen, is expected to be on the move this summer.
He is not short of interest either, with Man City and Bayern Munich among the clubs touted with a move for a player valued at €150 million (£126.5m).
Where Liverpool stand on such a valuation – or similarly high wage demands – is unclear, but reports in Germany have now claimed they are exploring a deal.
kicker report that a widely publicised trip to England on Tuesday, initially believed to have been to visit Man City, was instead thought to be for talks with Liverpool.
Wirtz flew to the UK with parents Hans Wirtz and Karin Gross, who serve as his representatives, to “assess the conditions” over a potential transfer.
Liverpool are said to be “actively involved” in the race to sign the No. 10, with Bild reporting the same information with the Reds “extremely interested.”
Local sources Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger and Suddeutsche Zeitung have further corroborated those claims from the national publications.
Club officials are said to have met with Wirtz and his family in Blackpool, with a meeting held for around an hour before then flying to Manchester, though it is “unclear” whether that involved talks with Man City.
The player himself “wants to explore all options,” which could include Real Madrid, where his former Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso is headed this summer.
While Bayern are claimed to be confident of landing a deal for the Germany international it seems as though they will face serious competition for his signature.
If Liverpool were to sign Wirtz this summer it would clearly represent their most expensive signing ever, with the current club-record outlay being £85 million for Darwin Nunez.
That casts doubt over whether a deal is likely, particularly as the club are set to be busy in strengthening a number of positions including at left-back, right-back, centre-back and centre-forward.
But it is not out of the question, with Virgil van Dijk expressing his optimism over ambitious plans to build on their Premier League title.
“It has to be a big summer and I trust the club and the people who make the decisions to do the right thing,” he told reporters at the weekend.
“As champions it is a very difficult task to remain champions but I feel with additions we can make that step up.”
Wirtz has scored 16 goals and assisted another 15 in 44 appearances for Leverkusen this season, while he has six goals and seven assists in his 29 games for Germany.
Liverpool are also understood to be interested in Leverkusen wing-back Jeremie Frimpong, though similar claims from Germany that a deal is close have been downplayed by sources close to Anfield.
