Liverpool’s pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz appears to be entering the endgame phase as they look to wrap up a deal for the Germany international.
Arne Slot is attempting to bolster his squad, having already signed Jeremie Frimpong in the summer transfer window, and the midfield creator is next up on his wishlist.
According to BILD journalist Christian Falk, an offer of £110m from Liverpool for the German wizard has already been rejected by Leverkusen, as they want up to £118m for his services.
The reporter claims that the Bundesliga outfit are expecting the Premier League champions to come back with a final offer for Wirtz, and that both sides are expected to agree on a fee of £118m.
This deal for Wirtz looks set to smash the club’s record transfer fee, set at £85m when they signed Darwin Nunez from Benfica in the summer of 2022, but is he worth the money?
Why Florian Wirtz is worth the money for Liverpool
The 22-year-old starlet is worth the gamble, even at a whopping £118m, because the star could be a transformational signing for the Reds, even after they won the Premier League in the 2024/25 campaign, due to the impact he could make at the top end of the pitch.
No central or attacking midfielder for Liverpool managed more than Dominik Szoboszlai’s return of six goals and six assists in the top-flight for Slot’s side, which shows that none of the manager’s options in that area of the park were particularly prolific or creative.
Wirtz, however, is a number ten who can consistently provide quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals, as evidenced by his performances for Leverkusen in the Bundesliga over the past two seasons, in particular.
During the 2024/25 campaign, the right-footed dynamo racked up 16 goals and 14 assists in all competitions for the German outfit, including six goals in nine matches in the Champions League.
Appearances
32
31
xG
9.00
9.40
Goals
11
10
Big chances created
12
17
xA
9.75
9.44
Assists
11
12
As you can see in the table above, Wirtz has hit double figures for both goals and assists in each of the past two Bundesliga campaigns, which shows that he can provide a consistent threat in the final third from an attacking midfield position.
Whether the 22-year-old superstar can translate that kind of form over to the Premier League still remains up for debate, of course, but he has done it on the big stage for Germany as well.
The international star scored four goals and provided three assists in seven matches for his country on their way to the semi-finals of the Nations League, which is further proof that he would be worth the money for the champions.
Liverpool, alongside a deal for Wirtz, could unearth England’s answer to the German star by signing one of their reported targets, Morgan Gibbs-White.
Liverpool's interest in Morgan Gibbs-White
It was recently reported by a Spanish outlet that Liverpool are one of a number of teams eyeing up a possible move for the Nottingham Forest playmaker in the summer transfer window.
The outlet claimed that Chelsea and Manchester City are also in the running to sign the England international from the Tricky Trees, who qualified for the UEFA Conference League for next season.
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It also revealed that Nottingham Forest would be willing to negotiate with those three clubs for a fee in the region of £70m, which means that he would be significantly cheaper than Wirtz as a number ten option.
The report, however, did not mention any incoming bids or imminent talks planned with the Premier League side for the Reds, so Gibbs-White may not be a priority target for the champions at this moment in time.
Irrespective of whether or not Liverpool finalise a move for Wirtz from Leverkusen, the Nottingham Forest star would be an excellent signing for the club as England’s own version of the Bundesliga star.
Why Gibbs-White could be England's own Wirtz
England fans watched on, likely in boredom, as their team struggled to break down Andorra and came away with a drab 1-0 win, thanks to Harry Kane’s 50th-minute strike from close range.
Despite the fairly dismal attacking showing from the Three Lions, Gibbs-White was brought on with just one minute left to play and did not have a chance to make an impact.
Moving to Anfield and playing in Europe, in the Champions League, would put the former Wolves starlet in the spotlight at the very top of the domestic game and make it incredibly difficult for Thomas Tuchel to ignore him.
A transfer to Liverpool could also help to take Gibbs-White’s output to the next level as part of a team that creates more chances and has more of the ball than Nottingham Forest.
In the 2024/25 season, Liverpool created 82.2 xG to Forest’s 45.5 xG and averaged 57.7% possession to Nuno Santos’ side’s 41.2%, as per FBref, which means that the English star would be part of a far more dominant and attacking outfit if he made the move to Anfield.
Appearances
34
xG
6.34
Goals
7
Big chances created
10
Key passes per game
1.5
Assists
8
As you can see in the table above, the 25-year-old playmaker still managed to produce 15 goals and assists combined in the division, despite his team’s lack of dominance and creativity on the whole.
Gibbs-White, once dubbed “exceptional” by Pep Guardiola, scored more goals and provided more assists than any of Liverpool’s central midfielders. Now imagine how many goal contributions he could rack up as part of Slot’s dominant side…
The Forest star has not had the chance to showcase his talent in a team as great as Leverkusen’s or Liverpool’s, like Wirtz, and could explode in the final third if given that opportunity, based on his outstanding output in Forest’s team.
Therefore, the Reds could unearth England’s answer to Wirtz and give themselves two versions of the German star by signing the Tricky Trees talent before the end of the summer transfer window to provide him with a chance to flourish in a dominant side.
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