Gary Neville gives Florian Wirtz to Liverpool transfer verdict as Man Utd icon left ‘surprised’

Liverpool are in talks with Bayer Leverkusen over a sensational transfer to land Germany star Florian Wirtz, with the player only keen on a record-breaking Anfield move

Gary Neville is a big fan of Liverpool’s move to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen – but admits he is “slightly surprised” by the switch.

Liverpool are looking to shatter their transfer record to secure the Germany international, who has rejected the advances of Bayern Munich and Manchester City, making clear he only wants to head to Anfield this summer. So far, Liverpool have had two bids rejected, the latest totalling a cool £109million.

Bundesliga side Bayer are holding out for in the region of £125million all in, and if they land that figure it will break the British transfer record too – set by Chelsea when they signed Moises Caicedo for £115m from Brighton and Hove Albion in the summer of 2023.

Wirtz, 22, was voted by his Bundesliga peers as the best player in Germany this year, and is considered one of the world’s best young prospects. He would be Liverpool’s second summer signing, after the arrival of £29.5m Jeremie Frimpong, his close friend who also joined from Leverkusen last week.

And the Reds are also targeting the signing of £45m-rated Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez, as they seek to further enhance their squad.

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For Neville, there is no doubt that snapping up Wirtz is an excellent move from the champions, as they look to build on Arne Slot’s debut season.

The Manchester United legend said: “I think when you’re talking about winning the league, what is it that improves you?

“I mean, the only thing that’s going to improve you when you win the league is signing world-class players, or players that have got the potential to be world-class players. So signing Wirtz is fantastic.

“Frimpong and then there’s talk of Kerkez as well, deals with their right and left-back situations. So to get those three done, if they were to get those three done quite quickly, would be smart business. But I wouldn’t have expected anything else from Liverpool.

“[I’m] Maybe slightly surprised that they’ve gone so heavy on Wirtz in terms of the fee. They don’t normally go that big, but Slot deserves it, by the way. He waited 12 months for a player to sign.”

Slot only added Federico Chiesa to his squad last summer, and the Italian could depart as he look for greater first team opportunities. A new goalkeeper, £29m Giorgi Mamardashvili is also arriving, a deal sealed 12 months ago, and that will be offset by Caiomhin Kelleher’s exit for Brentford in an £18m deal.

Already gone is Trent Alexander-Arnold, with the Reds clawing back £10m for the England international after agreeing to release him early from his contract so he could join Real Madrid in time for the FIFA Club World Cup.

And Neville was blown away by the money Madrid handed over.

“Honestly, no, I mean, I’m stunned by that really, that £10m has changed hands for, but there is £100m pounds at stake in this World Club Championship and Real Madrid have got a great chance of doing it,” he remarked, speaking on the It’s Called Soccer podcast on the US Overlap channel.

“So you imagine if he plays in this tournament, they haven’t got a right back that’s playing there naturally at this moment in time. So it could be money well spent in four or five weeks.

“I just find it crazy that you’re spending £10m to have a player for five, six games. It’s incredible.”

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