Liverpool agree £116m deal with Bayer Leverkusen for Florian Wirtz

Liverpool have agreed a club-record deal to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen. The Premier League champions will pay a guaranteed £100m for the coveted Germany international, plus potential add-ons of £16m that would make Wirtz the most expensive British transfer of all time.

Richard Hughes, Liverpool’s sporting director, has been engaged in negotiations for the attacking midfielder for several weeks and a deal was finally struck on Friday morning. Leverkusen had wanted €150m for the 22-year-old, who had also attracted interest from Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Real Madrid but made it clear to the German club that Anfield was his preferred destination. He will undergo a medical and finalise the transfer in the coming days. Personal terms have already been agreed.

Liverpool made it clear throughout negotiations that they would not meet Leverkusen’s asking price but, after settling on a guaranteed £100m, the past few days have centred on the extent and the structure of the add-ons. Wirtz will become a British record signing, eclipsing Chelsea’s £115m purchase of Moises Caicedo, if sustained success at the highest level activates the extra £16m.

Meanwhile, the former Arsenal midfielder and Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst is set to join Arne Slot’s backroom staff as a replacement for John Heitinga. Van Bronckhorst has been out of work since being sacked by Besiktas in November and has extensive coaching experience with Feyenoord, Slot’s former club, the Chinese Super League side Guangzhou and Rangers, whom he led to the 2022 Europa League final.

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The 50-year-old was sacked by Rangers later that year after a poor start to the 2022-23 campaign. Heitinga was appointed head coach of Ajax last month on a two-year contract.

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