Liverpool have made a new offer worth a total of £113m for Bayer Leverkusen attacker Florian Wirtz.
Liverpool have offered Leverkusen £100m plus £13m in potential add-ons, but the bid is below the Bundesliga side’s asking price of £126m (€150m).
Wirtz wants to move to Liverpool amid interest from Manchester City and Bayern Munich.
Following Germany’s Nations League semi-final against Portugal, Wirtz appeared to subtly confirm that he is looking forward to potentially joining Liverpool this summer
The Reds’ £113m offer is just £2m below the £115m British transfer record fee paid by Chelsea for Moises Caicedo from Brighton in August 2023.
Liverpool’s £113m offer would be a club-record deal, surpassing the £85m they paid for Darwin Nunez from Benfica in June 2022.
Wirtz was one of the Bundesliga’s most impressive performers last season.
The 22-year-old, who has spent his entire senior career at Leverkusen, scored 10 goals and registered 12 assists in 25 starts as his side finished runners-up to Bayern Munich, a year on from winning a league and cup double.
Wirtz scored for Germany in Wednesday’s 2-1 Nations League semi-final defeat against Portugal.
Wirtz could follow his former Leverkusen team-mate Jeremie Frimpong to Anfield after the Netherlands international joined in a £29.5m deal.
Arne Slot’s side are also eyeing a deal for Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez.
The Premier League champions are growing increasingly confident of signing the defender, who is understood to be keen on the move, with personal terms not expected to be a problem.
Carra: Wirtz will start straight away – a new striker is next
Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool should move on to a centre forward next after completing deals for Jeremie Frimpong, Wirtz and a new left-back.
The Reds have been strongly linked with Bournemouth’s Kerkez to join at left-back – and Carragher wants a centre forward next.
“Throughout the season, I was still saying that Liverpool still need five or six players,” said Carragher on The Overlap.
Sky Sports’ William Bitibiri caught up with Leverkusen’s Nathan Tella at the Baller League, who explains what Liverpool can expect from Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz
“I think the left-back comes in and plays straight away, Frimpong will fight with Conor Bradley, Wirtz will play when he comes to the club. But I still think we need a centre forward. I think Liverpool will look to get their business done pretty early.
“Liverpool need a left-back, Andy Robertson needs help on that side and Kostas Tsimikas will be moved on. I’ve always felt that attacking midfield and left-back are the two areas that have jumped out to me in the last 12 to 18 months.
“Whether Wirtz comes in and plays in Szoboszlai’s role or plays from the left, I don’t know. But the next one is centre forward and I wouldn’t be surprised if once Liverpool get these three [Frimpong, Wirtz, and the left-back] done, the next one will be a centre forward.
“As the window goes on, Liverpool will just see who they can sell and what they can do – they might bring in another midfield player or a centre-back to back up, but they’ll just assess what the situation is.”
Why game-changer Wirtz is in demand – and how he fits in at Reds
Wirtz is Germany’s gem, and the Bayer Leverkusen superstar is attracting interest from some of the biggest clubs in Europe.
