Liverpool’s second offer for Florian Wirtz has reportedly not been accepted by Bayer Leverkusen, but an agreement is expected over the coming days.
The Reds tabled their second offer for Wirtz earlier this week worth £109.5 million, inclusive of add-ons, which the Times‘ Paul Joyce reports was “not accepted” by Leverkusen.
The Mail‘s Dominic King adds that “middle ground will be found quickly” as the two clubs finalise instalments and add-ons.
Similarly, the Telegraph‘s Jason Burt reports that Leverkusen are “happy with the fee” but “are in the process of negotiating how those payments will be made.”
For a deal of this enormity it is nothing out of the ordinary as the two clubs seek to find a happy medium between upfront payment, instalments and realistic add-ons.
All the while Wirtz has reported for international duty with Germany and his future has, of course, been put to manager Julian Nagelsmann.
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As a former Bayern Munich manager some sought to point fingers in his direction when Wirtz rejected their advances in favour of a move to Anfield, which he rebuffed.
“I’ve never told a player: ‘Move here or there’,” Nagelsmann said, as quoted by German reporter Maximilian Koch.
“What matters is that he plays and that he plays a similar role in terms of significance to the one he played in Leverkusen. We know that he’s one of the best players in the world.”
Germany face Portugal in the Nations League semi-final on Wednesday and will then feature in either the third-place play-off or final against Spain or France on June 8.
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There will be plenty of eyes on Wirtz on the pitch but off it too in the week to come as Liverpool seek to finalise a club-record transfer for the 22-year-old.
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