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Liverpool are attempting to complete the signing of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for a club-record fee(Image: Pau Barrena/Getty Images)

As statement signings go, Liverpool buying Florian Wirtz would take some beating this summer.

The Reds are in talks with Bayer Leverkusen in an effort to make the prodigiously talented German their club-record transfer.

It will take an offer in the region of £125m for Liverpool to convince Leverkusen to part ways with their superstar who, after rejecting advances from Bayern Munich and Manchester City, is keen to join the new Premier League champions.

That has got Reds fans very excited indeed.

Here is what German football and Bayer Leverkusen legends have said about the 22-year-old and his potential move to Anfield.

Jens Nowotny made 293 appearances for Leverkusen across 10 seasons and played for Die Mannschaft at the 2006 World Cup, where they finished third.

And speaking exclusively to FootballTransfers last year, he compared Wirtz to arguably the greatest player to have taken to a football pitch.

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Nowotny, who captained Leverkusen when they knocked Liverpool out of the quarter-finals of the 2001-02 Champions League, said: "He doesn't need to shy away from comparisons to players who are truly world class.

"It's obvious that Lionel Messi, with all that he has achieved, is still on a different level, but in terms of quality, I think Florian has the level to have a similar career.

"He may have different strengths than Messi but he certainly shares that ability to dominate a game or a team.

"I don't know where he will go, but due to his being in the German national team, he has the opportunity to talk to players who play in Spain, England and France or in Germany at Bayern Munich.

He will take the next step and wherever he may end up, he will be successful."

Rudi Voller, one of the stars of West Germany's 1990 World Cup-winning team, finished his illustrious career at Leverkusen and went on to hold the roles of sporting director and manager at the club after retiring.

Now director of the German national team, after previously managing the country to the final of the 2002 World Cup, Voller said of Wirtz to BILD last week: "I had a small hope that he might stay at Bayer Leverkusen for another year and then move on to an even bigger club.

Current boss Julian Nagelsmann recently addressed Wirtz's decision to leave Leverkusen: "I've never told a player to move here or there.

"What's important is that he plays - and plays a similarly important role to the one he played in Leverkusen.

"We know that he's one of the best players in the world."

Hansi Flick, who has just led Barcelona to La Liga and Copa del Rey glory, gave Wirtz his debut as Germany boss in 2001.

And he said: "Florian is just a huge asset with his care-free nature.

(Wirtz) is a player who can prevail at any club in the world, in my opinion.

"It doesn’t matter if it would’ve been Bayern or Liverpool it’s different from being at Leverkusen for sure - but he has all the tools to assert himself at any given top club."

And we will leave the last word to the man who is widely regarded as Germany's best-ever midfielder, Lothar Matthaus, the Bayern Munich and Inter Milan icon who inspired West Germany to 1990 World Cup glory.

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He said of Wirtz's potential move to Merseyside: "Personally, I also thought Florian would want to stay in Germany for the next few years.
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