Liverpool are expected to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, having submitted a club-record £109 million bid for the Germany international.

Florian Wirtz took five days to decide to join Liverpool instead of Bayern Munich, says a German transfer expert who has revealed how Arne Slot swung the deal in the Reds' favour.

When Bayern Munich legend Karl;-Heinz Rummenigge called Bayer Leverkusen ace the best player in Germany, it raised a lot of eyebrows. Now, per Süddeutsche Zeitung (via @iMiaSanMia), we know why Rummenigge and Uli Hoeneß felt the way they did about Wirtz and also why they felt he was so special:

An outstanding German talent declining Bayern will leave a bruise, even more so given that this was not just a financial decision

The German side has stoked up the transfer intrigue and speculation with an unprompted social media post about Florian Wirtz and his impressive form in the Champions League this season

Hamann, a Champions League winner with Liverpool in 2005 and now a respected pundit in Germany, is full of praise for Wirtz. Speaking to Sky Germany (via Bild), he explained why the young German’s talents are so well-suited to Slot’s energetic and fluid style.

Former Bayern Munich and Germany midfielder Toni Kroos left Germany and became a superstar. Now, the latest high-profile German will make the jump to England and hope to have the kind of success aboard that Kroos once had and not the career-killing experience that felled Timo Werner or the temporary derailment that Kai Havertz went through.