Florian Wirtz deal confirms Liverpool have finally fixed Zubimendi mistake

Liverpool have got a well-documented interest in signing Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen this summer. Swayed by the plans presented to him by Arne Slot, the Germany playmaker sees Anfield as his priority destination.

Other competing sides - Bayern Munich and Manchester City included - view Wirtz as no longer attainable. That leaves Richard Hughes - Liverpool’s sporting director - with a clear run at Wirtz.

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The 22-year-old is currently away on international duty with the Nationalmannschaft for the upcoming UEFA Nations League semifinals. But his future is expected to be resolved before long.

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That is of course if Liverpool manage to come to an arrangement with Leverkusen. The 2023/24 Bundesliga champions are reported to want a deal worth €150 million for their crown jewel.

Although he only has two years to run on his current contract, Wirtz is a world-class talent and the transfer value placed on him by his club reflects that status.

Liverpool knocked back in Wirtz talks

And so it’s up to the Reds to meet those conditions or else risk losing out on their priority transfer target.

It’s not a situation Liverpool want to find themselves in. Wirtz is clearly viewed as a transformative signing inside the club and missing out on him would be devastating.

But as long as Liverpool remain short of Leverkusen’s valuation then the possibility of seeing Wirtz slip through their fingers remains.

The club are reported to have been knocked back twice in talks for Wirtz thus far - remaining around €20m short of an adequate bid to satisfy B04’s demands.

Now it’s been suggested that Jarell Quansah or Harvey Elliott could be added to the deal in order to make up the shortfall.

Liverpool miss out on priority targets

Although Liverpool remain on track to land Wirtz, the current status of the deal is leaving certain fans uneasy.

They will be hoping that Hughes and FSG CEO of Football Michael Edwards can strike a favourable deal in the next few days - and avoid the situation the Reds have found themselves in over previous summers.

Liverpool have built up a bit of an unwanted track record of missing out on their priority targets.

In 2022 Aurelien Tchouameni was the No1 pick but he snubbed Liverpool for Real Madrid after terms were seemingly agreed.

A year later Jurgen Klopp was forced into justifying a €100m+ bid for Moises Caicedo. Regardless, the Ecuadorian chose Chelsea and Liverpool moved for other targets instead.

And last summer it was Martin Zubimendi linked with a move to Merseyside. Liverpool struck an agreement with Real Sociedad but he decided to stay put with his boyhood club for one more season at least.

This move is a slam dunk

Now all of these broke down for different reasons.

Tchouameni saw Madrid as his dream, Caicedo claims he already gave his word to Chelsea and Zubimendi made a personal decision to stay in the Basque Country.

Wirtz is different in that it is believed he sees Liverpool as his first-choice destination and all that is missing is an agreement between the clubs.

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This looks a slam dunk for Hughes and Co. The longer it drags out, the more the anxiety will increase. The club will be hoping to not make losing their priority targets a habit.

Let's move!