Liverpool are now front-runners to sign Florian Wirtz if he decides to leave Bayer Leverkusen, with sources in Germany even claiming his mind is made up.
In just over a week, Liverpool have progressed from hopeful suitors to leading contenders to land a record-breaking €150 million deal for Germany international Wirtz.
The Athletic‘s David Ornstein was first to report the news on Friday evening that Bayern Munich – long considered Wirtz’s most likely destination – now believe he favours a move to Anfield.
This has now been followed up by multiple reports in both Germany and on Merseyside.
What German sources say on Florian Wirtz to Liverpool
German newspaper kicker have corroborated Ornstein’s information on Wirtz deciding on Liverpool, even adding that the player has told Bayern of his intentions.
“The conversation between Wirtz and Liverpool coach Arne Slot is said to have been a decisive factor,” their report reads.
Despite similar talks with Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany, kicker write that “everything points to Wirtz moving to the UK.”
“Record transfer fee already approved”
Sky Germany‘s Florian Plettenberg brings a similar story, but went further in claiming that Wirtz is “close to a move to Liverpool” and that “a record transfer fee of between €130 million and €150 million has already been approved.”
In a report published at 7pm on Friday, Plettenberg writes that the 22-year-old “personally committed to Liverpool a few hours ago,” and though the Reds “have not yet made an offer” it is a certainty that “Bayern will come away empty-handed.”
That is a stark turnaround from expectations that Wirtz would either stay at Leverkusen or join the German champions.
What Liverpool sources are saying
Liverpool’s breakthrough in convincing Wirtz appears to be genuine, with club sources adding weight to the story with a brief reported by the Times‘ Paul Joyce.
Joyce writes of “growing pessimism [at Bayern] regarding their hopes of landing the player” and that the player has been “impressed by Liverpool’s ambitious plans under Slot to build on this season’s Premier League title success.”
“A feeling that Leverkusen will accept lower”
With regards a possible price tag of between €130 million (£109.1m) and €150 million (£125.6m) – the latter most frequently reported – Joyce explains that “there is a feeling that [Leverkusen] will accept a lower base figure.”
He adds: “A chunk of any fee can be paid in add-ons as is normally the case.”
The Mail‘s Lewis Steele describes Liverpool as “in command of the race” but insists that “it is no certainty he will leave Leverkusen.”
Given the nature of these accelerating reports, though, the eventuality of Wirtz staying seems very unlikely.
“A superstar in the making”
Speaking to This Is Anfield before Liverpool’s interest came to light, ESPN commentator Rob Palmer picked out Wirtz as a dream signing for the club.
“If you could get him to Liverpool, he is a superstar in the making,” he explained.
“I’ve done a couple of German games this season for ESPN as well and he’s been nothing short of sensational.
“So the two players I’ve seen in that league were [Omar] Marmoush, who did go to Man City, and Florian Wirtz.
“He’s the one I think would really, really excite me if you told me he was coming to town.”
