Liverpool splash out on Wirtz and Kerkez
21 Jun 2025 THE GUARDIAN / Sport Will Unwin Liverpool have confirmed the signing of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen. The German will cost a club record £100m and his price could rise with add-ons to £116m, which would make him the most expensive British transfer. Leverkusen had wanted €150m (£127.6m) for the 22-year-old, who also attracted interest from Bayern Munich, but weeks of talks brought down the price. Wirtz, an attacking midfielder, scored 16 goals and provided 15 assists in the past season in 45 club appearances. He has signed a five-year deal at Anfield. Wirtz, who has played 31 times for Germany, succeeds Darwin Núñez as Liverpool’s record signing. Núñez arrived from Benfica in June 2022 in an £85m deal but he is for sale after an underwhelming spell. “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 thou...