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The Reds moved ahead in the race to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, submitting a bid of £109million on Friday as they look to seal what will be considered a blockbuster signing.

Wirtz's potential arrival will be seen as a major coup for the Reds, with Anfield sources having initially expected the 22-year-old to remain in Germany either by spending another year at Leverkusen or following the well-worn path to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.

But after Manchester City pulled out of the bidding, Wirtz's entourage later informed the Bundesliga champions that Liverpool was his preferred destination.



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That led to the Reds stepping up their pursuit of the Germany international, with sporting director Richard Hughes leading negotiations in order to seal their second signing of the summer after Jeremie Frimpong's £29.5m arrival from Leverkusen was confirmed on Friday.

Wirtz, who scored 10 goals and provided 12 assists this season, was recently voted Player's Player of the Year in Germany and his family informed Bayern of his intentions a week ago, with president Herbert Hainer revealing the day after: "Max Eberl (sporting director) informed me that Florian Wirtz is probably leaning towards Liverpool.

I can’t say how things will continue with Leverkusen."

So why the apparent change of heart from a man Bayern once thought would join Jamal Musiala as the future of their club?

Reports of a "secret meeting" between Bayern and the player emerged this week, with Munich-based newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung revealing details in the exchange between officials from Vincent Kompany's team and Wirtz's representatives.

Indeed, both the tactical presentation from Kompany was said to have been less impressive to that of Liverpool head coach Arne Slot, who is reported to have presented a more clear plan of how Wirtz would fit into Liverpool's set-up.

And there have also been claims Wirtz was told he'd have to share tactical responsibilities with Musiala in the Bayern set-up, something the player is said to have been less than keen on as he looks to take the next step in his career.

Yet there could have been one mistake Bayern made weeks before meeting with Wirtz that led to Liverpool winning the race for his signature.

Described as a "fatal" error by Suddeutsche Zeitung, it is claimed Bayern received a "commitment" from the player's parents during early negotiations, which they mistakenly equated to being a guarantee that Wirtz would make the move to Bavaria.

It was described as an overconfidence that led to Bayern "taking their foot off the gas".

And having heard then about Wirtz's travels to England and subsequent interest from Liverpool, Bayern officials were left shocked to hear the Leverkusen man had instead chosen Anfield as his preferred next stop.

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There is, of course, work still to do for Hughes and Liverpool, but signing Wirtz would be seen as a statement for the Premier League champions - and a significant victory over a European rival.


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