How Pep Guardiola HELPED Liverpool seal Florian Wirtz deal

Liverpool are the clear favourites to sign Florian Wirtz this summer. The Germany playmaker won the Bundesliga title and DFB-Pokal with Bayer Leverkusen in 2023/24 but now looks set to make the next step in his career.

It’s all change at the BayArena - with title-winning coach Xabi Alonso leaving for Real Madrid and Jeremie Frimpong completing his move to Liverpool. And Wirtz could be next.

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He is valued at €150 million by his employers. The latest indications are that Liverpool and Leverkusen remain some way apart in negotiations but hopefully a breakthrough can be struck soon.

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It looks like the Reds will have a clear run at the attacking midfielder, with Bayern Munich and Manchester City no longer in the running.

Bayern believe Wirtz favours Liverpool while City were reported last month to have dropped out of the race. However, another report seems to contradict City’s version of events - which was that the spiralling costs of the deal led them to pull out.

Pep uncertainty convinced Wirtz

Instead it’s claimed by SPORTBILD that uncertainty over Pep Guardiola’s future convinced Wirtz to avoid the Etihad.

The Man City boss signed a new two-year extension last season, taking his term at the club to 2027, but Wirtz wanted to know what lay in store beyond that time.

As City were unable to say for certain, he was turned off the idea and that’s when Liverpool’s chase for the No10 began to solidify.

“Manchester City fell out of the race after Pep Guardiola couldn't give Wirtz a clear answer on how long he planned to stay at the club, weakening their pitch,” a report reads.

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Wirtz is under contract at Leverkusen until 2027, with club bosses demanding top dollar for their star attraction this summer. Let’s hope this one heads for a swift resolution and Arne Slot can plot the new era with Wirtz as his centrepiece.