Liverpool have officially announced the acquisition of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen.
The German international completed a two-day medical examination on Merseyside and fulfilled his media obligations before being formally introduced by the club on Friday evening.
The German star’s transfer fee is a club-record £100m, with potential add-ons that could increase the total to £116m, positioning him as the most expensive transfer in British football history.
Leverkusen initially demanded €150m (£127.6m) for the 22-year-old, who also drew attention from Bayern Munich, but negotiations over several weeks reduced the fee. Wirtz, an attacking midfielder, contributed 16 goals and 15 assists across 45 club matches last season.
“I feel very happy and very proud. Finally, it’s done and I was waiting for a long time,” Wirtz said on Liverpool’s website. “I’m really excited to have a new adventure in front of me. This was also a big point of my thoughts: that I want to have something completely new, to go out of the Bundesliga and to join the Premier League.
“I will see how I can perform. I hope I can do my best. I spoke also with some players who played [at Liverpool] and they told me that it’s perfect for me and every pitch is perfect, you can enjoy every game. I’m really looking forward to playing my first game.
“I would like to win everything every year. First of all, we have to do our work, I have to make my work. In the end, we want to be successful. Last season [Liverpool] won the Premier League so my goal is for sure to win it again and also to go further in the Champions League. I’m really ambitious.”
Liverpool have also secured the services of Jeremie Frimpong, a right-back, from Leverkusen for £29.5m and have finalized a £40m agreement to sign left-back Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth.
Kerkez is scheduled for a medical next week, with the intention of signing a five-year contract, and Liverpool are also interested in acquiring Crystal Palace defender Marc Guéhi.
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli
