Florian Wirtz is set to arrive on Merseyside to begin his medical ahead of a £116 million move to Liverpool, having indicated his decision to join “months ago.”
Wirtz is closing in on his record-breaking transfer to Liverpool and will fly into the UK on Thursday after enjoying time on holiday with Jeremie Frimpong.
The 22-year-old attacking midfielder is set to begin his medical on Thursday before the second stage on Friday and, all being well, he will then fulfil in-house media duties.
Liverpool could confirm the signing on Friday evening though there is no known timescale on their announcement as of yet.
But one thing is for certain in that Wirtz will join the Reds as their second signing of the summer following a £29.5 million deal for Bayer Leverkusen teammate Frimpong last month.
According to Sky Sports, while Liverpool may have reached an agreement over the No. 10 – paying an initial £100 million in deal worth up to a British record £116 million – the two clubs remain in talks over a third transfer.
That comes with interest from the BayArena in Jarell Quansah, with negotiations ongoing and described as “active” by journalist Lyall Thomas.
Liverpool are reported to value Quansah at upwards of £40 million and the fact contact remains between the two clubs suggests Leverkusen may be willing to break their own transfer record to sign him.
Their biggest outlay to date remains the £24 million paid to bring midfielder Kerem Demirbay from Hoffenheim in 2019, with any spend on Quansah eclipsing that.
The Mail‘s Lewis Steele has indicated that, following deals for Wirtz and left-back Milos Kerkez, Liverpool will prioritise sales to fund further additions.
Quansah, Darwin Nunez and Andy Robertson appear chief among those set to move on, with the likes of Federico Chiesa, Harvey Elliott and Ben Doak others who could raise sizeable fees.
After the books are balanced, Steele reports that a new No. 9 and a centre-back are the focus for Liverpool – which indicates a plan to replace Quansah.
Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite has been mentioned again of late, and though a deal would clearly be complicated it cannot be ignored that Liverpool’s rivals also hold genuine interest in Doak.
Wirtz decided on Liverpool “months ago”
While Wirtz’s switch to Anfield appeared to have come out of the blue, with Liverpool leapfrogging Bayern Munich to secure his signature, German legend Rudi Voller has claimed otherwise.
Voller, who was previously sporting director at Leverkusen and holds close ties to the club, told Toni Kroos’ podcast Einfach Mal Luppen that he had heard Wirtz was “inclined to go to Liverpool” considerably earlier.
“I knew from my proximity to Bayer Leverkusen, also from his family or from him himself, what inquiries he had – it wasn’t just Liverpool or Bayern Munich, there were others too,” Voller explained, per SPORT1.
“A few months ago, he hinted to me, as did his father, that he was inclined to go to Liverpool.”
He added: “The boy is ready for the Premier League.”
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