Florian Wirtz has a choice to make between Liverpool, Bayern Munich or staying at Bayer Leverkusen this summer and a decision is reportedly likely “within 10 days at the latest.”
Liverpool have made their move to persuade Wirtz to accept a new challenge in England and the Premier League, hosting him and his parents for talks last week.
With Man City dropping out of the race, it leaves Bayern, the Reds and Leverkusen to battle it out for the impressive German international, who will demand a sizeable transfer fee – he’s valued at £126.5 million.
The latest from German outlet kicker, who have been readily reporting on Wirtz’s transfer interest, is that “a decision [is] likely to be made within ten days at the latest.”
With the Bundesliga season over and Bayern preparing to have their squad in order for the Club World Cup, the timeline falls alongside the mini transfer window before the competition, between June 1 and 10.
A decision one way or another will be eagerly anticipated by all three clubs vying to either sign or keep Wirtz, with subsequent transfer dealings all to hinge on any significant outlay.
Bayern manager Vincent Kompany has “had lengthy discussions with Wirtz about his potential role” and they are “currently not pursuing a plan B in case of a rejection.”
• READ: Wirtz’s teammate has urged him not to sign for Bayern Munich
The pull to Bayern for Germany’s top young players is no secret as they have long been plucking talent from their rivals, but Leverkusen have not directly sold a player to them since 2004.
The Mail‘s Lewis Steele claims that the “noises are positive” from a Liverpool perspective, with the club having “presented their case” to the German international.
BILD, meanwhile, claim that Michael Edwards is to travel to Boston to get the approval to splash the cash on Wirtz, but that is overlooking the fact John Henry and Co. will be expected in Liverpool this weekend for the trophy lift.
There is a lot of noise surrounding Wirtz but the Reds will be hoping he opts to take on a different challenge and resist the temptation of following a well-taken path to Bayern.
