Erik ten Hag has left Liverpool in the dark over their chances of signing Florian Wirtz. A formal opening offer is reported to have been made by the Reds for the exciting Bayer Leverkusen playmaker.
Former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag could have a say over the potential transfer. Xabi Alonso’s replacement at Leverkusen is Liverpool‘s old north-west nemesis, who has taken his first job since being sacked by United last October. Liverpool are reported to have made an opening offer for Wirtz, said to be in the region of £84million. However, Leverkusen want closer to £126m for the Germany international, which would be comfortably the Reds’ record signing. Ten Hag has not ruled out Wirtz remaining at Leverkusen.
“He’s a super player,” said Ten Hag. “I’ve watched him and his development with great joy. Whether he’ll stay, you never know.”
Fabrizio Romano claims that Liverpool have made an offer for the 22-year-old and want a quick resolution to the deal. Both clubs remain in discussions over a fee and the structure of potential payments. Wirtz is reported to have given the green light to the move after turning down Bayern Munich.
Liverpool are also in talks with Leverkusen over Wirtz’s team-mate Jeremie Frimpong. A possible replacement for the outgoing Trent Alexander-Arnold, Frimpong has a release clause in his contract reported to be worth around £30m. The former Manchester City academy star, 24, has been a key player under Alonso over the last few years.
But Ten Hag was not prepared to give anything away over his future, in addition to defender Jonathan Tah, who has been linked with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
The 55-year-old continued: “I didn’t talk to players yet, the timeframe was too short for that. The players are with their national team or on vacation. That is still to come. I have an idea of the squad, but not in detail yet. We still need to approach that, but we also still have time for that. But of course we can’t wait that long for that, we need to make decisions.”
Liverpool are expected to conduct a busy summer bolstering Slot’s Premier League title-winning side. Frimpong is likely to be one of a number of additions in defence.
Chairman Tom Werner said: “It’s already busy. We go again. It never gets old, winning. We owe it to all of our supporters to bring back a team even better next season.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk