Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen will continue talks over a record-breaking deal for Florian Wirtz, with interest in two of Arne Slot‘s players potentially key.
Friday saw Liverpool’s second official offer for Leverkusen No. 10 Wirtz widely reported, with The Athletic‘s David Ornstein and the Times‘ Paul Joyce among those to detail a £109 million bid.
The package presented to the German side was worth up to €130 million, which is still €20 million (£16.9m) short of their asking price.
It was duly turned down, though sources in Germany and on Merseyside are confident a deal will eventually be brokered as both clubs are clearly eager to agree on a transfer.
According to German publication kicker, the distance between the two sides’ valuations could be bridged by the inclusion of a Liverpool player.
Harvey Elliott is said to be “on [Leverkusen’s] list,” with Sky Germany corroborating that while claiming further interest in Jarell Quansah.
Both players have been touted with moves away from Liverpool this summer having struggled to break into Slot’s group of regular starters.
Elliott made only six starts across the entirety of 2024/25 and just two in the Premier League – both coming when the title was already won – and has strongly hinted at a summer exit.
Meanwhile Quansah started 13 of his 25 appearances, typically filling in for either Virgil van Dijk or Ibrahima Konate as third-choice centre-back, but Liverpool journalist David Lynch has described him as a “genuine candidate” for a transfer.
While a direct player-plus-cash deal is very rare in modern football, if Elliott or Quansah are open to the move it stands to reason that more favourable terms could be offered as part of the Wirtz negotiations.
Clearly, Liverpool would value both players at significantly higher than the £16.9 million required to meet Leverkusen’s price tag.
Quansah is reportedly valued at closer to £50 million – and though there have been no specifics claimed around Elliott’s situation it is likely that he is deemed of similar value or even higher.
Leverkusen were also interested in a deal for Tyler Morton last summer, offering a straight loan with guarantees of starting at least 50 percent of his available games, and it could be that this is revisited.
But the dialogue over Wirtz swapping the BayArena for Anfield remains open, with Sky Germany reporting: “A final decision has not yet been made, but talks are ongoing.”
