Liverpool 'ready £80m bid' for Bundesliga star as sporting director 'confronted' over transfer rumours

Bayer Leverkusen’s sporting director confronted reports that Liverpool were preparing an £80million bid for Florian Wirtz.

Wirtz has been linked to the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea in the past few seasons upon lighting up the Bundesliga. The attacking midfielder first emerged on people's radars two seasons ago, when he racked up 17 goal involvements in only 24 league encounters as a teenager.

Despite being hampered by injuries the following campaign Wirtz was involved in seven goals in just 17 Bundesliga outings, while this term he has chipped in with five goals and nine assists in all competitions.

Indeed, the Daily Star claimed (via TeamTalk) Liverpool were a leading contender to sign Wirtz, with Jurgen Klopp’s presence at Anfield likely to boost the club’s chances of completing the deal.

The same report detailed that Leverkusen would allow Wirtz to depart for at least £80million.

Elsewhere German publication Süddeutsche Zeitung referenced reports that Liverpool had already submitted an £80million offer for the player.

However, last week, as Leverkusen travelled to their second-leg Europa League tie against Qarabag the club’s sporting director Simon Rolfes confronted rumours of an impending Wirtz exit.

Rolfes did not confirm whether or not an offer had been submitted for Wirtz but insisted that a sale in the coming January window was out of the question.

The executive reportedly added that £80million was “far too little” to sign the 20-year-old.

Leverkusen manager, Xabi Alonso, formally a Liverpool player, compared the 12-cap German international to Lionel Messi earlier this year.

Alonso said: “There are good players and there are players who look good on the pitch. The player who looks good does things that are nice, but not necessarily efficient.

“Why is Messi so good? Because he knows how and when to play simple passes. Messi says: "You're in a better position? Here, there you have the ball!

“It's not always about making the most brilliant move, but the best and smartest. Florian can do that. That's why he's so good.”