Liverpool have agreed to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of €136.3million (£116m) — €117.5m (£100m) upfront with a further €18.8m (£16m) in add-ons.
What happened?
Wirtz is expected to sign a five-year deal at Anfield.The transfer constitutes a club record fee for Liverpool and a potential English record transfer, should the add-ons be activated.
Liverpool had earlier submitted an offer of €130m (£109m) for the player, but followed up with an improved offer of €134 million (£113m). Wirtz has a contract which runs through to 2027 at the German club.
The discussions — led by Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes and Leverkusen managing director of sport Simon Rolfes — had been mainly focused on the structure and specifically payment terms, plus the nature of any add-ons.
Wirtz summer transfer suitors
Wirtz was also a primary target for Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich this summer. However, the Bundesliga champions were informed in May that the playmaker favoured a move to Liverpool.
Read: Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen in final stages of Florian Wirtz departure
He has also taken a trip to England in search of a property to live in, should his move to England materialize.
Wirtz at Leverkusen
The German midfielder recorded a total of 16 goals and 15 assists in 45 matches last season. He was also pivotal in Leverkusen’s run in finishing second in the Bundesliga and in reaching the Champions League round-of-16, where they were defeated by Bayern.
In the previous campaign, Wirtz played an instrumental role in securing his side’s maiden German top-flight title with an unbeaten domestic season, alongside reaching the Europa League final.
He scored 18 goals and assisted 20 in 49 matches, earning the Bundesliga player of the season accolade.
Liverpool transfer window
Besides Wirtz, Liverpool had earlier met the €35 million (£29.6m; $39.3m) release clause for Jeremie Frimpong early in the summer transfer window. The Dutch wing-back signed a five-year contract with The Reds and was announced on May 30 following the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid ahead of the Club World Cup.
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