After signing Florian Wirtz for a British-record £116m on a contract worth £200,000-a-week, Liverpool are now reportedly willing to sell one of their star men after he demanded to match that salary.
Liverpool unveil Florian Wirtz
Not many gave Liverpool a chance when rumours initially emerged that they were battling Bayern Munich and Manchester City for Wirtz’s signature, but the German’s mind was soon made up and football’s latest open secret quickly stole the headlines. With a Premier League winners’ medal around his neck following his first season at Anfield, Arne Slot now arguably has the best No.10 that European football has to offer at his disposal.
Wirtz didn’t come cheap, but talents of his calibre rarely do in today’s market and that record price-tag will quickly become worth it if he replicates his Bayer Leverkusen numbers during his time at Anfield.
|
Wirtz at Bayer Leverkusen |
Stats (via Transfermarkt) |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
197 |
|
Goals |
57 |
|
Assists |
65 |
It’s no surprise that Liverpool decided to make their new signing one of their highest earners, either, with reports suggesting that he’ll earn around £200,000-a-week in Merseyside – a salary that only Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk better on the Reds’ wage bill.
After putting pen to paper, Wirtz explained his move – telling Liverpool’s official media channels: “I just thought that it was the right point in my career to make the next step and of course I wanted to get to a club that is from the top three in the world, and in my opinion Liverpool was one of them.”
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The Reds are making more moves on the market.
Despite spending big money on their new signing, however, it seems as though Liverpool are not prepared to do the same to keep hold of one of their star defenders this summer.
Liverpool now willing to sell Konate
According to Caught Offside, Richard Hughes and Liverpool are now willing to sell Ibrahima Konate this summer for around €60m (£51m) after he demanded a wage increase to £200,000-a-week at Anfield.
With just one year remaining on the Frenchman’s current deal too, the Reds are desperate to avoid a repeat of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s exit as a free agent and have reportedly set a contract deadline until the end of the summer.
What only adds fuel to the fire of Konate’s current position are reports that Liverpool are now looking to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace this summer. Whilst, as things stand, it seems as though the Palace man would be replacing the Leverkusen-bound Jarrel Quansah, there’s no doubt that the Reds will be well aware that he could also solve their Konate problem.
Whether Guehi can truly match Konate’s quality will be the big question if the move happens. It would certainly be a bold move by all those involved at Anfield.
