Two names have dominated discussion among Liverpool fans over the past two to three days – Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz.
The duo are currently teammates at Bayer Leverkusen and could potentially both relocate to Merseyside this summer, judging by a variety of transfer reports which have done the rounds this week.
Anfield chiefs have apparently met with the Germany playmaker and have scheduled another round of talks, while the pursuit of the Dutch right-back is significantly more advanced, with David Ornstein reporting of an ‘increasing confidence’ in L4 that a deal for the Netherlands international will be completed soon.
Paul Joyce shares transfer updates on Frimpong and Wirtz
On Thursday afternoon, Paul Joyce shared his latest information on Frimpong and Wirtz in a report for The Times.
The reliable journalist wrote that Liverpool are expected to approach Leverkusen in the coming days and formally trigger the right-back’s £30m release clause, with the 24-year-old viewed as an ‘attractive proposition’ due to his positional versatility and modest price tag.
Discussions on personal terms have already taken place, and the player is understood to be keen on joining the Premier League champions.
On Wirtz, Joyce indicated that the Anfield hierarchy could make a ‘strong pitch’ for the 22-year-old if he were to ‘show an inclination’ for a move to England this summer.
There remains a feeling in L4 that the playmaker will either stay at Leverkusen or join Bayern, but FSG are prepared to pounce if they believe he’d rather leave the Bundesliga.
Frimpong move seems inevitable, but signing Wirtz could be tricky
Frimpong looks increasingly likely to be Liverpool’s first signing of 2025, with Fabrizio Romano posting on social media this afternoon that the transfer is now ‘just a matter of short time’ from completion.
A combination of the Dutchman’s surprisingly low release clause, modest wages and desire to join the Reds should all help to faciltate a deal being done relatively quickly (Ornstein), and to sign an instant right-back replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold would be a brilliant start to the summer for Richard Hughes.
It looks as though Wirtz could be considerably trickier to land, not least because of an estimated transfer fee in excess of £100m, while there have been reports from Germany that his heart is set on a move to Bayern. If indeed that is the case, it’d be near-impossible for LFC to convince him otherwise.
However, CaughtOffside sources have claimed that Leverkusen’s preference would be to sell him to an overseas club and not a direct domestic rival, while Liverpool would also be apparently willing to put more money on the table for the 22-year-old than the newly-crowned Bundesliga champions.
The current likelihood is that the Bavarian giants may still have the edge, but FSG are right to keep their hand in, should there be a significant turn of events which works out in their favour.
Even if Wirtz doesn’t arrive, though, to get Frimpong through the door would be a fine way to kickstart a potentially game-changing summer transfer window at Anfield.
