Bayer Leverkusen have reportedly named two Liverpool players in negotiations that they would be happy to see included in a potential swap deal for Florian Wirtz. The Bundesliga club value their star man at £126million, a fee the Reds are attempting to negotiate down, with one option available in the form of sending a player or several players in the opposite direction.
Liverpool have already reached an agreement with the player, who informed Bayern Munich that he would not be joining them this summer and his preference is to head to Merseyside. Manchester City had earlier pulled out of any deal due to financial reasons.
Sky Sports Germany now claim that Leverkusen have identified Harvey Elliott and Jarrell Quansah as possible inclusions for any swap deal, with talks ongoing to discuss how their involvement would impact the finances of the transfer.
There has been no final decision made on either player, though the pair appeared to have fallen out of favour with Arne Slot during the season. Elliott made just two Premier League starts in the title-winning campaign, while Quansah also started only four times.
Former Fulham man Elliott has already outlined his desire to remain on Merseyside. In April, he told the Liverpool Echo: “I hope that I can push on [next season]. This is my team, I am committed to them and it’s just a situation that is always going to have a lot of talk. I just need to think about what is best for my future, my career and as much as I want it to be here.
“You never know what is going to happen around the corner. If I had it my way, that would be here, I would play each and every game here and stay here for the rest of my career but it all depends on managers, the people above and as I said you don’t know what could happen but as far as I am aware I am here, here to stay and this is the club I want to be at.
“Hopefully I am still here to be honest. It is the best place to be, the best club to be at and especially having the fans around us at the moment, I don’t think there is a better place to be playing.
“Players go through ups and downs but at the end of the day you have to come out fighting and I think it is within myself to make it happen. So hopefully I can stay here for the rest of my career.”
German outlet Kicker claim that two rounds of negotiations have been concluded without a complete agreement. Liverpool lodged a second bid of £109m including bonuses, which has been rejected by Leverkusen, though talks are ongoing. An opening offer of £96m had previously been dismissed.
There is said to be a £16m gap in negotiations, which could partly be filled by either Elliott or Quansah, though Liverpool would value both players far beyond that figure.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk