Bayer Leverkusen have told Liverpool to come back with an even bigger offer after the Premier League champions offered £113m for Florian Wirtz.

Arne Slot has made Wirtz, 22, his top transfer transfer target this summer as he looks to strengthen a Liverpool squad that won the Premier League last season.

Wirtz is rated as one of the most talented players in Europe, having made close to 200 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen and earned 30 caps for Germany.

On Saturday it was reported that Liverpool had approached Leverkusen with a revised offer for Wirtz worth £113m.

The deal would guarantee Leverkusen £100m, with the possibility of another £13m in add-ons.

But The Times say Bayer Leverkusen have knocked back that offer and still want their asking price of £126m (€150m) to be met.

While Leverkusen continue to frustrate Liverpool, the Reds are still expected to welcome Wirtz to Anfield sooner rather than later.

The Bundesliga club are waiting for another offer from Liverpool, who are ready to make Wirtz the most expensive signing in the club’s history.

A compromise will likely be reached for Wirtz to leave for a figure between Liverpool’s latest offer of £113m and Leverkusen’s asking price of £126m.

Wirtz is keen to move to Anfield and has prioritised a move to Liverpool despite also attracting interest from Manchester City and Bayern Munich.

The attacking midfielder will be involved in Germany’s Nations League third-place clash against France on Sunday.

Liverpool in talks to sign Milos Kerkez

While working on a deal for Wirtz, Liverpool are also pushing to sign Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth.

The Cherries want £45m for the dynamic left-back, who is viewed by Liverpool as a long-term replacement for club legend Andy Robertson.

Jamie Carragher has urged his former club to bring Kerkez, 21, to Anfield but Liverpool are keen to negotiate that figure down and want to spend around £30m on the Hungary international.

More to follow…

A key Liverpool star has revealed he would like to return to his boyhood club in the near-future, as his Anfield contract enters its final season.

Fresh from lifting the Premier League trophy, Arne Slot has been making moves in the transfer window, signing Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen, with a deal for Milos Kerkez also in the pipeline.

But there have also been some big departures with Trent Alexander-Arnold completing a divisive transfer to Real Madrid, while Caoimhin Kelleher has joined Brentford.

And there could be another major exit on the horizon as Alisson Becker has entered the final year of his contract, though the club have the option to extend it until 2027.

Liverpool signed Alisson from Roma for £52million in 2018, a then-record transfer for a goalkeeper, and he’s been worth every penny, winning two Premier League titles, the Champions League, the FA Cup, the Carabao Cup and the Club World Cup.

Last season he conceded just 29 goals in 28 Premier League appearances, keeping 10 clean sheets, and could well have won the Golden Glove award if not for injury issues.

Moreover, the Brazilian’s magnificent performance in the UCL win over PSG cemented his status as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

Addressing his future, the 32-year-old said over the weekend: ‘I’ve never been able to plan long term. Obviously now I have one year left on my contract and another year of club option, which they will probably exercise.

‘It’s a decisive moment in my career, with a World Cup coming up. I want to be very focused, I don’t want anything external to get in the way of that.’

Liverpool have already begun planning for life after Alisson, signing the highly-rated Giorgi Mamardashvili and Armin Pecsi, with the former not content to be a back-up keeper.

And Alisson himself has suggested he doesn’t have long left at Anfield, expressing his desire to return to boyhood club Internacional while he can still play ‘at a high level’.

Several high profile Brazil players have gone back to play in their homeland in recent times, including Neymar, Thiago Silva and former Liverpool ace Philippe Coutinho.

‘I talk to athletes who have made this move to return, some have had good experiences, others not,’ Alisson replied when asked if he could follow suit.

‘Each one will have their own experience, but I want to return, especially to Inter. I don’t know when it will happen, but I still want to do it at a high level. That’s what I have planned.’

For now though, Alisson’s focus will just be on securing Brazil’s place at the World Cup before gearing up for the new season, which Liverpool will kick-off on August 10 with the Community Shield against Crystal Palace.

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