Liverpool hold talks over record Florian Wirtz deal in ‘busy’ summer plans

Chair Tom Werner says busy transfer summer has begun.

MERSEY BEAT: Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz and Liverpool's Luis Diaz battle for the ball last November.

The Liverpool chairman, Tom Werner, has confirmed the club’s busy summer has already begun with the Premier League champions in talks over the record transfer of Florian Wirtz and close to wrapping up a deal for his Bayer Leverkusen teammate Jeremie Frimpong.

Liverpool are favourites to sign the £126m-rated Wirtz after he turned down a move to Bayern Munich and Manchester City pulled out of the running. The Anfield club have started negotiations over a fee with Leverkusen, who want £126m for the Germany international. That would comfortably eclipse Liverpool’s current record transfer, the £85m that brought Darwin Núñez from Benfica in 2022, but the club hope to structure a deal that would see Leverkusen accept a lower initial fee plus achievable add-ons.