LIVERPOOL WILLING TO BREAK RECORD FOR ACE

LIVERPOOL have submitted a bid worth up to £109m for Bayern Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz to potentially make him the most expensive player of all time at Anfield.

- By PAUL GORST

The Germany international had been pursued by Manchester City and Bayern Munich but having seen Pep Guardiola’s side fall out of the race at the start of last week, Wirtz’s entourage later informed the Bundesliga champions that Liverpool was his preferred destination.

That was the catalyst for the Premier League champions to step up their efforts to bring Wirtz to Anfield and sporting director Richard Hughes is now overseeing negotiations with his Leverkusen counterpart Simon Rolfes and their managing director Fernando Carro.

The bid is made up of achievable add-ons and guarantee fees, although it is unclear at this stage what the initial sum would be to bring the 22-year-old to Merseyside.

It is thought Leverkusen are holding out for closer to £115m, which would make Wirtz the joint most expensive transfer in Premier League history alongside Moises Caicedo, who opted to join Chelsea over the Reds from Brighton & Hove Albion in 2023.