Liverpool have offered £100million plus a further £13m in add ons for Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz.
Talks are ongoing between parties with the Germany international set on a move to the Premier League champions.
The 22-year-old has made it clear that Liverpool are his choice so talks are continuing to find a middle ground over the next few days as Leverkusen hold out for more.
The German star has been convinced by Arne Slot’s clear plan of where he will play in Liverpool’s set-up as a No 10. Sources in Germany talk with certainty that Wirtz will soon complete a move to Liverpool with some suggesting next week will be a key period for the deal.
And on Wednesday, Wirtz appeared to nod when asked by MailSport if he was ‘excited for Liverpool‘ after Germany’s Nations League defeat by Portugal.
If Liverpool accept Bayer’s £126m demand, Wirtz would become the most expensive signing in British football, overtaking the £115m Chelsea paid Brighton for Moises Caicedo. Their current offer, however, is short of that.
Liverpool have tabled their latest offer for Florian Wirtz – £100million plus £13m in add-ons
Wirtz, who has made it clear he wants Liverpool, is currently on international duty with Germany in the Nations League
Sources in Germany indicate that next week will be a key period for the negotiations between Bayer Leverkusen and Arne Slot’s side
A potential stumbling block for the deal had appeared in the form of a statement from Koln president Werner Wolf.
Wirtz joined Koln as a child in 2010 before making the switch to Leverkusen 10 years later as a 17-year-old.
According to FIFA’s rules, any club that has played a role in a player’s development between the age of 12 and 23 will receive five per cent of any transfer fee as ‘training compensation’.
Wirtz was at Koln for nine-and-a-half years from the age of seven and Wolf said his club are going to fight for what they feel they deserve.
Five per cent of the fee would see Koln pocket more than £5million from what could be a record transfer.
On Wednesday night, Wirtz scored the first goal of the game as Germany fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Portugal in the Nations League. This Sunday, he will line up against France in the third-place play-off.
