Plans are seemingly already well underway for Liverpool’s next two transfer windows.
As well some potential moves in January – including a possible loan swoop for Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips – rumours about summer 2024 are also now starting to whir.
One man who seemingly won’t be a part of those plans though, is Bayer Leverkusen forward Florian Wirtz.
Wirtz has been strongly rumoured to be on Liverpool’s radar. Reports only last week suggested that the Reds will be one of the teams ‘in’ for the 20-year-old when he comes to leaving Leverkusen.
With a January move already ruled out, that exit had looked likely to be at the end of the current season. However, the player’s father has today poured cold water on that idea.
Hans-Joachim Wirtz has claimed that is son is instead ‘likely’ to stay where he is until summer of 2025. As a result, Liverpool may now feel they have a slightly better chance of bringing Wirtz to Anfield.
Wirtz set for Leverkusen stay
It’s worth pointing out that, as things stand, Wirtz is claimed to be leaning towards a move to Bayern Munich from Leverkusen.
Nevertheless, with it set to be another 18 months before he makes that decision, Liverpool have a lifeline. Plenty can happen within that time frame.
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Bayern will obviously still be an attractive proposition to a top German player, but who knows how things will look in a year-and-a-half.
Perhaps the Munich side will no longer be looking for a player like Wirtz. Maybe his form will drop off slightly, or a change in management at Bayern leads to a difference in approach. Either way, a delay can only be positive news for Liverpool here.
Another reason this may end up benefitting the Reds is that they don’t really need to add a player like Wirtz right now.
Of course, another exciting young forward is always welcome in the squad. The Leverkusen starlet has been described as a ‘generational talent’ [bundesliga,com] and you should never turn your nose up at one of those. But for the reported £87m price-tag, the Germany international shouldn’t be a priority.
In 18 months time, that could all look very different. Providing he stays, Mohamed Salah’s contract will be coming to a close and he’ll be getting on for 33. Meanwhile the likes of Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota will be nearing 30, too. Things may need freshening up.
So, Bayern may still be favourites, but Wirtz snr’s latest comments should be seen as promising news for Liverpool. There’s a long way to go in this one yet.