Liverpool’s pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen superstar Florian Wirtz looks to finally be coming to a close, as BILD have confirmed a date for the playmaker’s Reds debut, with his contract expected to be signed in the coming days.
The Reds have been pushing to sign the 22-year-old in recent weeks, in what has to be considered one of their most exciting pieces of business in the past decade.
Wirtz has been voted the best player in the Bundesliga in both of the past two seasons by his peers, and he is considered among the most talented attacking players in Europe. Leverkusen have been stubborn in letting their star player leave, however, with Liverpool already seeing a £113m bid for his services rejected.
That said, the player himself wants to move to the Premier League champions, rather than stay put or join Bayern Munich, and there has been continued confidence that a deal will be agreed sooner rather than later.
With Wirtz’s international commitments with Germany now done for this month, the hope is that the transfer moves quickly now, and a fresh claim certainly suggests that that is the case.
Wirtz set to make Liverpool debut against Preston on July 13
Now, according to BILD in Germany, Liverpool are closer than ever to completing the signing of Wirtz from Leverkusen, as he is set to sign his contract before heading on holiday.
It is claimed that the Reds will offer €140m (£118m) for the German, with a “package consisting of a fixed transfer fee and realistic additional payments, possibly with additional bonus payments”, with the overriding feeling now that the two clubs are close to an agreement.
They even report he will make his debut in the pre-season opener against Preston, with the trip to Deepdale on July 13 pencilled in after joining his colleagues in training from July 7.
This is the news that so many Liverpool fans will have been hoping to hear, considering Wirtz could be a game-changing signing in their attack, having been lauded as the “best” in the world in his position by Patrick Helmes.
“I was in the stadium for the Champions League match against Salzburg. What Florian Wirtz can do is absolutely exceptional for me. Probably the best midfielder in the world. I think that Wirtz has something different that Jamal Musiala isn’t quite ready for yet.
“I think Wirtz will simply move on in the summer. He has left huge shoes to fill in Leverkusen. With the way he plays football, he is an absolute hero there, the best player in the squad.”
There will clearly be huge pressure on Wirtz to excel for Liverpool, considering he will shatter their club-record fee, but he has all the tools to be a sensation, from creative genius in the No.10 role – he has 57 goals and 65 assists for Leverkusen – to a strong work ethic out of possession.
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Is it the end of his Reds career?
It’s now a case of getting the deal completely over the line, with the Germany international linking up with Jeremie Frimpong again at Anfield, and hopefully Milos Kerkez and an elite new striker to follow, especially if Darwin Nunez leaves Anfield in the coming days.
