Revealed: Liverpool set to make final offer for Florian Wirtz after Bayer Leverkusen REJECTED £113million offer for star man - and the eye-watering fee sources say will seal the deal for No 1 transfer target
Bayer Leverkusen are holding out for around £118million to wrap up the Florian Wirtz deal and the German club are braced for Liverpool to make another big-money bid in the next 24 hours.
The German attacking midfielder is expected to play in their Nations League third-fourth play-off this afternoon against France in Stuttgart – but attention will soon turn to completing his move to the Premier League.
Leverkusen are resigned to losing Wirtz but are keen to maximise the finances they receive for their prized asset, who has his heart set on joining Liverpool after turning down Bayern Munich and Manchester City this summer.
On Friday, Liverpool tabled an offer to Bayer Leverkusen for Florian Wirtz of £113million, which was a base £100m with the rest coming in add-ons. That was rejected as the German club are asking for £126m – though the Reds are unprepared to go quite that far.
But sources in Germany say Leverkusen are now ready for what will likely be a final, written offer from Liverpool that could total £118m when factoring in bonuses and add-ons.
At this stage the clubs are discussing the details of the deal in terms of the bonuses and Leverkusen are said to want an increase in add-ons whether achievable or not.
All parties are confident a deal can be struck as Wirtz is said to be desperate for the move and Leverkusen are not planning to stand in his way – if they are remunerated in a fair way.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are hoping to step up their pursuit of Bournemouth left back Milos Kerkez in the coming days. The Cherries remain insistent on their £45m valuation but Reds transfer chief Richard Hughes, once of Bournemouth, will try to negotiate that down.
After the Wirtz and Kerkez deals are wrapped up, the Premier League champions will look to balance the books.
Federico Chiesa is weighing up a return to Italy after barely featuring for Liverpool since his switch from Juventus last August. Sales of Darwin Nunez, Harvey Elliott and Kostas Tsimikas could also happen, though nothing is advanced yet.
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