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Florian Wirtz looks on during the Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund at BayArena on May 10, 2025(Image: Jörg Schüler/Bayer 04 Leverkusen via Getty Images)

Given the speed at which modern football moves, it might be tempting to file Liverpool's pursuit of Florian Wirtz inside the drawer marked 'summer transfer sagas'.

A breakdown of the timeline, however, pushes back on that theory somewhat, even if excited supporters are continuing to keep their eyes peeled for the latest developments online.

The early days of June are often quiet times for those seeking tangible news about transfer targets but the revamped and lucrative Club World Cup has shifted the goalposts somewhat in that regard in 2025.



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As a result of the mid-June tournament in the United States, the transfer window is now officially open from June 1 to 10 before it re-opens on the 16th, through to September 1.

That, in theory, leaves Liverpool with plenty of time to iron out the finer details of a club-record pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen starlet Wirtz, but the feeling from both clubs is that an accord can be reached sooner rather than later.

With Leverkusen resigned to losing their talisman in the same summer that Jonathan Tah has moved to Bayern Munich on a free transfer and vaunted coach Xabi Alonso has agreed to become the new head coach of Real Madrid, Bayer are keen to arm new boss Erik ten Hag with the funds to rebuild after falling behind new Bundesliga champions Bayern.

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Mark Flekken has come through the door from Brentford in a move that had a direct impact on Caoimhin Kelleher's future, as he joined the Bees as his replacement in an £18m deal, but a fee upwards of £100m will be vital for Die Werkself to regroup and challenge Bayern once more.

Liverpool have been in talks with Leverkusen for a few weeks over Wirtz, with conversations arising organically while they discussed the payment plan for Jeremie Frimpong's £29.5m release clause.

It's understood that fee will be paid in three separate, annual instalments.

It was last month when Liverpool reached out to Writz's entourage to register their admiration and that if he fancied a move from his homeland they would like to be at the front of the queue as champions of England.

Anfield officials, however, were always insistent in their belief that he would remain in Germany at either Leverkusen or Bayern, who have a long, established history of hoovering up the best homegrown talents in the country.

Manchester City, perhaps having learned of Wirtz's preference, chose to drop out of the race, with reports filtering through on Monday May 19, as the Reds prepared for the penultimate game of their Premier League title-winning campaign, away at Brighton & Hove Albion.

After the Bundesliga campaign ended on May 17, Wirtz took an end-of-season holiday before meeting up with his Germany international colleagues ahead of their UEFA Nations League semi-final with Portugal on June 4.

The trip to Corsica made for some picturesque updates for the Instagram account but there was plenty of thinking time for the player to do while on his Mediterranean sunlounger.

Speaking about Wirtz in his final press conference as Leverkusen boss, former Reds midfielder Alonso said: "Flo is one of the top players in the world.

It's normal in football that there are rumours, especially with such a special player."

It's been reported that Liverpool officials met Wirtz and his parents Karin and Hans, who doubles up as his agent, at Blackpool airport on or around May 14 to deliver a charm offensive while the family weighed up their next move.

Although there is little pushback on the fact that the club chief did register their admiration for the playmaker at some stage, details of their in-person meeting have always been denied.

Liverpool were gearing up for one of the biggest weekends in their recent history on Friday May 23 - before their Premier League trophy presentation and city-wide parade - when Wirtz's representatives informed Bayern that the attacking midfielder had made his decision to join the Reds.

Bayern president Herbert Hainer revealed on Saturday May 24 at a fan festival he had been informed by sporting director Max Eberl that Wirtz was "probably leaning towards Liverpool".

Previously it had been reported that Bayern's supreme confidence in their belief that Wirtz would be signing for them was something that 'greatly irritated' the player and his family.

How much that "hubris" - as it was described to the ECHO this week - had in the 22-year-old's decision only he and his camp will know, but there is little doubt that a complacency set in at the Allianz Arena given the well-established pattern of the German giants pilfering the finest talents of their domestic rivals.

Following Bayern's acceptance that Wirtz would only be Anfield-bound if he was to leave Leverkusen, talks stepped up between the two clubs, with sporting director Richard Hughes and his Bayer counterpart Simon Rolfes in regular contact.

On Friday May 30, Liverpool tabled a club-record offer worth up to £109m, made up of add-ons, as is commonplace with deals of such a size.

It's unclear what the initial fee was but Leverkusen turned down the package and talks remain ongoing.

Claims that Fenway Sports Group's CEO of football Michael Edwards flew to Boston to speak to the club's owners to 'release' the funds needed to strike a deal have been firmly dismissed.

Hughes, as per his remit as sporting director, is leading the negotiations with Rolfes and the trust in a man dubbed "the best in the business" to the ECHO recently is implicit inside the club.

Having secured Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk to new two-year deals before pocketing £10m for Trent Alexander-Arnold to join Real Madrid a month early, Hughes's track record at Anfield is starting to look hugely impressive a year into a tenure that has already seen him earn around £50m for Sepp van den Berg and Fabio Carvalho to move to Brentford.

Liverpool remain determined to thrash out a deal and there is no suggestion a breakdown is around the corner.

The transfer window is less than a week old and while there is a desire from both sides to reach a resolution, there is also an acceptance that a deal at this size could take a bit longer.

The Reds are looking to obliterate their current transfer record and are in virtually unchartered territory when it comes to negotiating an incoming transfer above £100m, save for the short-lived and ultimately doomed efforts to bring Moises Caicedo to Anfield in 2023 from Brighton.

On Tuesday June 3 reports emerged in German media once more that Wirtz was demanding the No.10 shirt at Anfield, which is currently worn by Alexis Mac Allister.

Don't believe everything what's written (clown emoji)," wrote Wirtz on his Instagram story.

Such an outspoken response lends further credence to the idea that the Wirtz family were frustrated by Bayern's overconfidence when privately discussing their pursuit to reporters in Bavaria.

One thing is clear, though, as Liverpool continue to look for agreeable terms to land the Bundesliga player of the year, Wirtz is a player who will be worth the wait.
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