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And while the Liverpool squad have jetted off to Dubai between games, and Arne Slot has been seen celebrating in Ibiza, Richard Hughes is seemingly hard at work.

Liverpool are pushing to sign Jeremie Frimpong and as that move edges closer, it was surprisingly revealed on Wednesday that the Reds are also attempting to buy his Bayer Leverkusen teammate Florian Wirtz.

Wirtz has been on Liverpool’s radar for a long while, and finally looks ready to leave Leverkusen this summer.

And after the Germany international and his parents jetted in to hold talks with Liverpool on Tuesday, the Reds are already said to have a feeling of how their chat with the Wirtz family went.

Photo by Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images

Last week brought claims that Wirtz has decided to join Bayern Munich once he departs Leverkusen this summer.

However, with Man City also very keen to sign the 22-year-old, it looked set to be a mighty battle between two of Europe’s biggest sides.

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But then in stepped Liverpool to make it three.

As per Kicker on Wednesday, the Reds are ‘accelerating’ towards signing Wirtz.

The competition to sign the German is said to be ‘increasingly intense’ with all three clubs having now spoken with Wirtz and his family over a massive transfer.

READ MORE: Liverpool have a £38m Milos Kerkez alternative who is still in the mix to be signed this summer

But according to journalist Patrick Berger on X, Liverpool still believe Wirtz is currently more likely to stay in Germany rather than choose a move to England.

“The expectation at LFC is that Wirtz is likely to stay in Germany,” says Berger after confirming Wednesday’s ‘secret trip.’

“Bayern are still pushing and remain confident.

Price tag: up to €150m [£126m].”

This is a story which really had Liverpool fans excited on Wednesday.

However, the actual chances of the Reds signing Wirtz seem relatively slim.

SeasonAppearancesGoalsAssists2019/20912020/2138872021/223110142022/2325482023/244918192024/25441614Florian Wirtz at Bayer Leverkusen

Having been tracking the No.

10 for quite some time, it should not have been a huge surprise to hear that Liverpool are throwing their hat into the ring as he leaves Leverkusen.

For the time being, though, the direction of travel does still seem to be that Bayern hold the lead.

Given that Wirtz is one of the best – probably the best – German talent on the market right now, it would be something of an embarrassment if Bayern were to lose out on his signature.

As Tuesday’s meeting and the subsequent reporting shows, Liverpool are certainly in the mix here.