Liverpool, June 20 (IANS) Liverpool FC have reached an agreement for the transfer of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen. The 22-year-old playmaker has put pen to paper on a long-term contract, which will until 2030, with the Reds after agreeing personal terms and successfully passing a medical on Friday. The deal is reportedly for a club-record 116 million Pounds.

Wirtz becomes the latest addition to Arne Slot’s squad so far this summer, reuniting with former Leverkusen teammate Jeremie Frimpong.

Shortly after signing his deal with the club, Wirtz told Liverpool’s media team, “I feel very happy and very proud. Finally, it’s done and I have been waiting for a long time – finally, it’s done and I am really happy.

“I’m really excited to have a new adventure in front of me. This was also a big point of my thoughts: I want to have something completely new, to go out of the Bundesliga and to join the Premier League.

“I will see how I can perform there. I hope I can do my best. I also spoke with some players who played there, and they told me that it’s perfect for me, and every pitch is perfect, you can enjoy every game. I’m really looking forward to playing my first game.”

Regarded as one of the standout talents in world football, Wirtz arrives on Merseyside after five-and-a-half hugely successful seasons with Leverkusen following a switch from Cologne’s youth team.

After a Bundesliga debut in May 2020 at the age of just 17 years and 15 days, the German grabbed his first senior goal a few weeks later by netting against Bayern Munich.

A debut for the German national team came in September 2021; however, a serious injury sustained the following March ruled him out for several months.

Nevertheless, Wirtz returned to produce a stellar season as Leverkusen completed a league and cup double in 2023-24, as well as reaching the Europa League final, remaining unbeaten throughout the entire Bundesliga campaign.

To date, he has 31 caps and seven goals for Germany, including two in five runouts at Euro 2024 last summer.

—IANS

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