June 13, (THEWILL) – Florian Wirtz is on the verge of joining Liverpool in a £116 million deal after lengthy negotiations with Bayer Leverkusen.
The agreement includes a £100m guaranteed fee, with £16m tied to add-ons. If all clauses are triggered, it would represent not only Liverpool’s most expensive signing to date but potentially the largest transfer fee ever paid by a British club.
Talks were led by Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes and Leverkusen’s Simon Rolfes, who focused on structuring the payment terms rather than meeting the full €150m valuation initially set by the Bundesliga side.
Wirtz, under contract until 2027, was also approached by Bayern Munich but had already shown a preference for Merseyside.
He visited the Liverpool area earlier this year to prepare for the potential move.
The 22-year-old midfielder has been one of Europe’s most productive playmakers over the past two seasons.
Last campaign, he recorded 16 goals and 15 assists in 45 appearances as Leverkusen finished second in the league and reached the UEFA Champions League last 16.
A season earlier, he played a crucial part in their unbeaten title win, scoring 18 and assisting 20 en route to the UEFA Europa League final and being named Bundesliga player of the season.
His arrival provides Liverpool head coach Arne Slot with a different attacking profile compared to Dominik Szoboszlai, who operated in the No 10 role last season.
While Szoboszlai offered relentless running and defensive coverage, Wirtz brings sharper attacking output, with 21 goals and 25 assists in league action since the start of last season.
Slot had previously noted the need for more incisive play in the final third.
Wirtz’s close control, quick decision-making, and ability to drift into different areas of the pitch will give Liverpool greater variety in attack.
With Mohamed Salah approaching the twilight of his career, the German’s arrival could help bridge the gap in creativity and goalscoring.
His flexibility across multiple roles offers Slot an opportunity to rotate personnel without losing fluency in key matches.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
