Liverpool close to Florian Wirtz confirmation, following transfer 'embarrassment': report
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Liverpool are on the verge of confirming Florian Wirtz as a Reds player.
The Merseysiders lifted the Premier League title at the weekend – Liverpool's 20th English title in all – with manager Arne Slot suggesting that after a meagre first summer in charge in which the club only brought in Federico Chiesa, there would be transfer activity in the coming weeks.
'We didn't do a lot, and that makes it maybe even more special to win it this season,' Slot said in his post-match press conference. 'Now we will see if the team needs. We can do things better already by ourselves without adding any players. But if we can then we will definitely do so.'
After Wirtz' parents were spotted in the UK eyeing up a new house ahead of a move, it was reported that the Reds' hierarchy had approved the decision to break the club's transfer record for the no.10.
Virgil van Dijk still holds the all-time transfer record at Anfield, with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano claiming in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that Liverpool's first bid for Wirtz was in excess of €100 million.
Now, German publication BILD have reported via Sport Witness that Wirtz is set to move to the Premier League, while calling the whole saga an 'embarrassment' for Bayern Munich.
Bayern legend and former FourFourTwo columnist Lothar Matthaus has shared his thoughts, calling the imminent deal 'painful' for Die Roten's honorary president Uli Hoeness, who has gone on record to state the club's interest in Wirtz.
'This is a defeat for Bayern, and for Uli Hoeness personally, certainly the most painful in the transfer market in recent times: he had repeatedly stated that Wirtz was their absolute dream player, and that Bayern would pull out all the stops to sign him,' Matthaus says.
'Bayern is simply not the no.1. The Premier League, with its quality at the top and its breadth, is the best league in the world, with great intensity and pace.'
Wirtz is ranked at no.3 in FourFourTwo's list of the best attacking midfielders in the world right now, and in addition to him joining the Premier League champions, moves for Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong are also in the works.
The playmaker is valued at €140m by Transfermarkt.
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