Florian Wirtz arrived at Liverpool’s training ground early on Friday morning, ready to complete his medical and media duties to finalise his record transfer.
The German arrived in England on Thursday afternoon, flying into Manchester airport on a private jet after his holiday in Montenegro – where he was joined by fellow new signing Jeremie Frimpong.
It was then the first part of a two-stage medical for the 22-year-old, with Sky Germany reporting that that was successfully completed.
Friday morning saw Wirtz, who is joined by his parents, Hans and Karin, arrive at the AXA Training Centre in Kirkby shortly before 9am.
There, after the second part of his medical, he will conduct his first interview as a Liverpool player and a photoshoot.
Liverpool’s £116 million deal is then expected to be officially confirmed later on Friday.
Wirtz stands to become the most expensive player not only in the club’s history, but also in the history of British football, with a package of an initial £100 million and £16 million in add-ons agreed last week.
It is a deal few would have predicted heading into the summer, or even when reports of Liverpool’s interest first emerged.
But the level of detail shown in meetings with Richard Hughes and talks with Arne Slot, who will plan to build his side around Wirtz in his natural No. 10 role, convinced him to join over Bayern Munich.
Upon the transfer’s confirmation, Wirtz will become the third signing of a busy summer to come for Liverpool, after the £29.5 million agreement for Leverkusen teammate Frimpong and £1.5 million goalkeeper Armin Pecsi.
Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez is set to join next for around £40 million before the focus turns to sanctioning sales and strengthening in at least two more key areas.
With Jarell Quansah poised to head the opposite direction to join Leverkusen for £34 million, Liverpool could replace him with Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi.
And a proposed move for Darwin Nunez, who is most notably attracting interest from Napoli, will prompt the arrival of a new No. 9 – Newcastle‘s Alexander Isak remains the club’s ideal target.
There will almost certainly be more departures, including a possible exit for Harvey Elliott, whose exposure will be further limited by the addition of Wirtz.
Andy Robertson is considering a move to Atletico Madrid, while Federico Chiesa, Tyler Morton, Ben Doak and Nat Phillips are among those who could also be sold.
Less likely appear moves for the likes of Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Kostas Tsimikas, as well as Wataru Endo and Joe Gomez who have already signalled their intention to stay at Anfield.
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