Liverpool 'agree £126.9m deal to sign Florian Wirtz' after weeks of talks with with Bayern Leverkusen as German prepares for Premier League move
Liverpool have finally agreed a deal with Bayern Leverkusen to sign Florian Wirtz, according to a report.
The Reds have been locked in negotiations with the German outfit over a deal to sign the midfielder, and a £126.9million fee - which includes add-ons - has now been agreed on, according to Fabrizio Romano.
More to follow.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
9 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Fury as Brighton Council plan for gender-neutral changing village at new pool being built by firm founded by Olympic swimmers
A new £5.5million pool in Brighton designed by a firm founded by Olympic swimming stars have provoked fury over plans suggesting a gender-neutral changing village. Campaigners say women and children could be put at risk as they raised questions about the mooted new facilities at Withdean Sports Complex. Venue owner Brighton and Hove City Council has handed the contract for the pool's design to ReCreation, a company set up by four-time Olympic medallist Dame Rebecca Adlington and fellow Olympic swimmers Steve Parry and Adrian Turner. Councillors have hailed 'plans for this much needed new swimming pool' to be built at the Withdean sports base, which has an athletics stadium that was formerly home to Brighton and Hove Albion FC between 1999 and 2011. But critics have drawn attention to how the newly published plans, put out to public consultation, promise 'Gender neutral changing village and toilets'. The local authority has since said there has been a 'misunderstanding' about the published plans, while suggesting they had been wrongly phrased. Complaints are now pouring in to the council's online questionnaire seeking reaction, with gender-critical campaigners raising concerns about single-sex only facilities potentially allowing predatory men access to women and children. Planning documents shared as part of an ongoing public consultation plan show designs for the new pool's footprint, accompanied by a page listing 'Key considerations' and headed 'Accessible for everyone'. The document says the proposals are for 'a new facility designed for inclusion and wellbeing' that would 'ensure access for all users'. The design features are listed as including 'ramped and stair access to suit all levels of mobility', a 'wheelchair-accessible changing cubicle' and 'designated wheelchair spaces in the spectator area'. Yet critics have highlighted one of the other bullet points which states: 'Gender-neutral changing village and toilets designed with inclusivity in mind.' Similar concerns have been raised over gender-neutral changing facilities at other leisure centres nationwide, with the group Women's Rights Network calling for curbs. Brighton and Hove City Council has shared a possible floor plan for the proposed new pool - saying cubicles would include 'a mix of single, double, family and accessible'. Human rights charity Sex Matters have said the floor plan did not appear to indicate provision for single-sex facilities. The organisation's director of advocacy Helen Joyce said: 'It's incomprehensible that any council would choose to build a new community pool with only "gender neutral" - that is, mixed sex - changing facilities. 'Most people, of both sexes, prefer single sex facilities for privacy and dignity, and for women they are important for safety too. 'There is increasing evidence that mixed sex changing rooms and toilets are a gift to predatory men who seek to harass, abuse and sexually assault women and girls.' She told of increasing reports of phone-related incidents in 'gender-neutral' changing rooms and toilets as well as complaints that men have been hiding cameras in such facilities to record women in a state of undress. Ms Joyce added: 'If Withdean Sports Complex really wants to be "inclusive", it shouldn't design its facilities in a way that will put off women and girls, especially those who have suffered abuse or are from religions and cultures where sharing changing rooms with men is unacceptable.' Faye McGinty, of Women's Rights Network which has been campaigning against such 'gender-neutral changing villages', called for authorities to show more concern. She said: 'We know that the changing village design for swimming pools is a magnet for predatory males. 'All over the country, women and girls are constantly put at risk of voyeurism and other forms of sexual abuse in these mixed sex changing rooms in the name of 'inclusivity'. 'Councils, architects and Sport England need to look at the overwhelming evidence of harm and review any new and ongoing projects like the Withdean Sports Complex, considering the safety of women and girls through a robust risk assessment and consultation with women's groups.' Gender-critical activist Kellie-Jay Keen warned that such gender -neutral changing villages would put women and children in danger if not safely signed. She said the quality of such facilities did vary - as she praised those at her nearest leisure centre in Wiltshire for having entirely enclosed cubicles, with walls running from floor to ceiling. But she said others made people more vulnerable to indecent exposure, voyeurism and sexual assaults. She told MailOnline: 'These gender-neutral changing villages do seem to be on the rise. I live in Wiltshire and we've got one and I was encouraged to see the cubicles do seem to be fully enclosed. 'If they are fully enclosed, right to the top from the floor and are fully impenetrable, I don't see there's anything wrong with them. 'But if, say, a mobile phone can come through any gaps or pierce a hole, then it's simply not good enough. 'Anything less than being fully enclosed puts women and children at risk.' Brighton and Hove City Council sources have suggested in response to the backlash that there had been a 'misunderstanding' following phrasing in the published plans and insisted users would be kept separate in the proposed 'village'. They said lockable toilets and changing rooms would be similar to those seen in leisure centres nationwide. And they described the phrasing in the published documents as 'something, we'll have to have a chat, the way it's been worded'. Councillor Alan Robins, cabinet member for sports, recreation and libraries, today said: 'There has been a misunderstanding over the naming of the facilities on the designs. 'But to be clear, they are for the industry standard, individual, lockable cubicles used at leisure facilities up and down the country. 'We are delighted to be consulting on a new state of the art swimming pool for residents of Brighton and Hove.' A formal planning application related to the proposed new pool is expected to be submitted to Brighton and Hove City Council later this year. But initial designs and plans for the five-lane, 25m facility were revealed this month, with councillor Mr Robins describing the unveiling as 'incredibly exciting'. He said: 'As a coastal city it's vital that all our children and young people have the chance to learn to swim at an affordable price, and that we listen to the views of our residents and do everything we can to provide modern, sustainable and affordable sporting facilities for all.' The project, given an estimated budget of £5.5million, is being overseen by swimming pool design firm ReCreation, part of the Swim network of UK-wide community pools. The company says on its website: 'Using innovative technology and designs, we deliver bespoke public leisure buildings for a fraction of the traditional cost. 'Every project we undertake becomes our passion and we offer a complete, dedicated design and delivery team that collaborates with each client on a case-by-case basis to provide an optimum, cost-effective leisure solution.' Adrian Turner, director of ReCreation, said earlier this year when the Withdean partnership was announced: 'Our guarantee is a swimming pool that the community will love. 'We will be using the latest design and engineering technologies to develop a pool that will be warm, safe and inviting. 'For 11 years in a row, more pools in the UK have closed than opened, so we are thrilled to be reversing that trend with Brighton & Hove City Council.' The firm has been described as the country's leading provider of above-ground pools, after being founded in 2009 alongside the Pools4Schools initiative. They opened Britain's first Olympic-length above-ground pool in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham in 2019. Dame Rebecca and Parry also set up Swim!, an organisation set up 'to help children to swim' - with regular sessions held weekly at pools across the country. The company describes them as 'passionate about teaching children to swim' and how they were 'achieving this by opening state-of-the-art, family-friendly centres around the UK'. Dame Rebecca, 36, won two gold medals at London 2012 - the first British swimmer to hold two golds since 1908. She followed that up with a pair of bronzes at the Summer Games in Rio four years later.
Leader Live
10 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Wrexham keeper Arthur loves pre-match engagement with fans
Okonkwo has become a real fans' favourite during his two seasons at The Racecourse and he is now preparing to make the step-up with the Reds to the Championship. The goalkeeper originally joined Wrexham on loan from Premier League giants Arsenal during the opening stages of the 2023-24 League Two campaign and he has fully embraced the pre-match interactions he has with supporters. Okonkwo told Amanpour and Company: 'I've seen both sides to it. I was at Arsenal and the season I had with the first team, you were literally escorted everywhere you're going. 'You don't see the fans. We have security everywhere and I think that's a special thing that's at Wrexham at the moment. 'You know, you come in before every game, we sign everyone's stuff and, you know, you feel good about it. 'It's really special to be able to engage with the fans before the game and that's something you don't really get, obviously, higher up the levels and... I hope it stays like that. 'Being able to engage with fans as much as we can, it's always a special feeling.' Two other fan favourites - Steven Fletcher and Mark Howard - have departed the club following the League One promotion-winning campaign and executive director Humphrey Ker says bidding farewell to players is tough to do. He said: 'Really, the cruellest irony of this whole thing is that the success that these players deliver for the club creates a huge challenge for them, in terms of their ability to continue with the club as it goes up through the levels. 'With Arthur, he's a young player, he's got unbelievable potential. He's already a fantastic player. 'So, he's someone that, I think has a very long future with the club if he so chooses and if we can hold on to him, you know, if he doesn't go and get signed by Real Madrid! 'This summer, we said goodbye to, in particular, Steven Fletcher and Mark Howard. 'Chomp, as he's known, Mark Howard is someone whose been with us from the National League all the way up. He's had three promotions in a row. 'Fletch has had two promotions with us and they're not only fantastic players, but they're great people. 'I mean, a huge basis of the success that we've enjoyed as a club has been the quality of not only the player, but the person that the manager's been able to bring in and it's brutal. 'It's really, really tough. I mean, it's such a tight-knit group. It's such an incredible dressing room. 'That character is really the most valuable thing that we've been able to unearth. The individual players, great players, great value in terms of transfer fees and wages, and all that sort of stuff. 'But, actually, the thing that has delivered three successive promotions, that starts with the people, the characters, the personalities. 'So, yes, saying goodbye to those people is very hard. It's very hard.'
The Guardian
12 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Poorest to benefit from Reeves's spending but tax rises likely, says thinktank
Rachel Reeves's multibillion-pound plan to repair public services will benefit Britain's poorest households most but means tax rises are likely this autumn, according to a leading thinktank. The Resolution Foundation said the extra funding for hospitals, schools and the police announced by the chancellor would provide a valuable 'benefit-in-kind' for households who would gain from the improvements. A middle-income household would gain the equivalent of £1,400 a year on average by the time of the next general election through access to better services, rising to as much as £1,700 for the poorest fifth of households in the country. However, the thinktank warned that Reeves could be forced into further tax increases to maintain higher levels of spending at the forthcoming autumn budget, amid a worsening outlook for the economy and public finances. 'A combination of a weaker economic outlook, an unfunded spending commitment on winter fuel payments, and just £9.9bn of headroom against the chancellor's fiscal rules, mean further tax rises are likely to be needed this autumn,' it said. Reeves used Wednesday's spending review to prioritise funding for the NHS, defence and more than £100bn for long-term capital projects despite leaving some key areas facing a tough squeeze. In a pivotal speech to the Commons setting out Labour's plans up to the next general election, the chancellor said she was taking action to 'renew Britain' after years of underinvestment and austerity measures overseen by successive Conservative-led governments. The Resolution Foundation said the package showed that Britain was turning into a 'National Health State', with health accounting for 90% of the extra spending announced. In a major reshaping of the state, it calculated the NHS was on track to account for half (49%) of all day-to-day public service spending controlled by Westminster by the end of the decade – up from a third (34%) in 2009-10. The thinktank said real day-to-day spending was now rising again in the 2020s by 2.2% a year, after a 0.5% fall per year in the 2010s. However, in the decade prior to that under the last Labour government, spending rose by 4.3% on average each year. While the health service is taking up a larger share of public spending, other areas have faced real-terms budget cuts, including a 16% reduction in real, per-person funding for justice and a 50% decline for housing, communities and local government since 2010. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion However, experts warned that Reeves could face a summer of speculation over tax increases in the run-up to the autumn budget. Mel Stride, the Conservative shadow chancellor, said: 'This is the spend now, tax later review, because [she] knows she will need to come back here in the autumn with yet more taxes.' Labour argues that its plans allocate money that has already been raised, highlighting that the spending review is based on last year's autumn budget and this year's spring statement, when the Office for Budget Responsibility judged that Reeves was meeting her main fiscal rule to balance day-to-day spending with revenues within the fifth year of its forecast. However, economists warned that a weak growth outlook and rising government borrowing costs amid Donald Trump's global trade wars could blow the chancellor's plans off course. This could force the OBR to downgrade its forecasts for the government finances, which would require Reeves to take action to announce spending cuts or tax rises if she wanted to stick to her fiscal rule. Andrew Goodwin, the chief UK economist at the consultancy Oxford Economics, said: 'Considering the government's recent U-turn on winter fuel payments could be a precursor to higher government spending in other areas, it looks increasingly likely that substantial tax increases will be needed.'
