Liverpool have made a bid of up to €130m for Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz.
The offer, which would smash Liverpool’s transfer record, includes add-ons on top of a fixed sum. It could set up two deals with Leverkusen with Liverpool set to pay £30m to bring in right-back Jeremie Frimpong.
Their bid for Wirtz reflects a growing confidence the Germany playmaker will choose Liverpool. He also attracted attention from Manchester City while Bayern Munich had been the favourites to sign the 22-year-old.
But Liverpool have made Wirtz their major target as they look to build on the squad that won the Premier League title.
They had expected this summer would be busier than last and are willing to pay a fee in excess of the previous club record, with Virgil van Dijk costing £75m and Darwin Nunez’s deal potentially reaching £85m.
Liverpool are helping to fund their signings by selling Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid, bringing in €10m for a player in the last month of his contract.
