Bayern Munich look set to miss out to Liverpool in the transfer race for Florian Wirtz, but the Bundesliga champions are on course to enjoy a modicum of revenge on the Reds.
Reports from Germany on Friday claimed that the Bayer Leverkusen star is now leaning towards a move to Merseyside after being convinced by a conversation with Arne Slot, having previously appeared to have his heart set on joining the Bavarian giants.
While the 22-year-old and Jeremie Frimpong are both on course to swap the BayArena for Anfield in the near future, one of their teammates from this season is set to take a different path.
Bayern set to snap up Tah on a free transfer
According to CaughtOffside, Jonathan Tah has chosen to sign for Bayern and has agreed a four-year deal with the Munich club after passing his medical, having reached the end of his contract with Leverkusen.
Liverpool were among several clubs from England and mainland Europe to make enquiries for the 29-year-old, but the defender rejected all of those in favour of remaining in his native Germany.
The report claims that at least one unnamed Premier League side had been willing to match the Bavarians’ offer in terms of finances and contract length, but the centre-back was single-minded in his belief that a move to the Allianz Arena represents ‘the right step forward in his career’.
Some solace for Bayern if they miss out to Liverpool on Wirtz
Although many Reds supporters might feel that adding to our central defensive depth ought to be more of a priority than signing an attacking midfielder, we can’t imagine too many Kopites complaining about the opportunism that Richard Hughes has shown in pursuing a move for Wirtz.
To move so quickly for one of the hottest young talents in European football reflects very well on the Liverpool hierarchy – or at least it will if the proposed transfer comes to fruition in the coming weeks.
Tah would’ve made for an astute addition to Slot’s squad given the injury issues that we’ve had at the back this season, not to mention the vast experience that he’d bring from more than 450 senior games at club and international level.
The 29-year-old is also among the best in Europe at playing out from the back, as illustrated by figures from FBref which rank him among the top 7% of positional peers in the continent’s five main leagues this season for pass completion (93.1%), and among the top 18% for progressive passes per 90 minutes (4.63).
For Bayern to get him on a free transfer will provide some solace for the likely event of missing out on Wirtz, while Liverpool fans probably won’t rue the defender’s decision for too long if Hughes can get a deal for the Leverkusen playmaker over the line.
