“They don’t normally…” – Gary Neville ‘surprised’ by what could soon happen at Liverpool | OneFootball

Gary Neville has admitted to being ‘slightly surprised’ by one thing that Liverpool could be about to do in the transfer market.

Richard Hughes has wasted no time in striving to build on the Reds’ Premier League title triumph, already clinching the signature of Jeremie Frimpong and – as reported by Fabrizio Romano over the past 24 hours – ‘advancing’ in their pursuit of Milos Kerkez.

In addition to the full-back duo, the Merseysiders could also land a blockbuster signing in Florian Wirtz, for whom Bayer Leverkusen are holding out for a fee of €150m (£126.4m). As per Sacha Tavolieri, the 22-year-old has repeatedly communicated his desire for a move to Anfield this summer.

Neville ‘surprised’ by how much Liverpool could pay for Wirtz

Neville has applauded Liverpool for moving so quickly on that prospective triple transfer raid, although he has been caught by surprise over how much Arne Slot’s side could pay for the German playmaker.

Speaking on It’s Called Soccer, the Sky Sports pundit said: “Wirtz would be a sensational signing…to get those three done, if they were to get those three done quite quickly, would be smart business, but I wouldn’t have expected anything else from Liverpool.

“Maybe slightly surprised that they’ve gone so heavy in on Wirtz in terms of the fee. They don’t normally go that big, but Slot deserves it, by the way. He waited 12 months for a player to sign.”

(Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

Wirtz would justify a club-record outlay from Liverpool

Considering that Liverpool have never spent more than £85m on one player (and that’s only if all the add-ons from Darwin Nunez’s transfer in 2022 are activated), to splash out just over £125m on Wirtz would be quite a leap of faith by FSG, so Neville’s mild surprise is understandable.

However, despite their frugal reputation in the eyes of some supporters, the Reds’ owners aren’t averse to substantial outlays when they’re convinced that it’d be money well spent, and the Leverkusen star could justify a club-record investment from Anfield.

As per FBref, he ranks among the top 10% for several underlying performance metrics compared to positional peers in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year, including his match averages for assists (0.38), successful take-ons (2.89), progressive passes (6.63) and shot-creating actions (5.53).

In addition, Wirtz scored 16 goals and set up another 15 from an attacking midfield position in 2024/25. When you consider that forwards Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz were two of Liverpool’s top three scorers for the campaign with 18 and 17 goals respectively, that speaks volumes for the German’s attacking impact.

Neville doesn’t pass up any opportunity to hide his dislike for the Merseyside giants, but he’ll also give the club due credit when they produce excellence on and off the pitch – something they might be about to do once more if they complete the statement signing of Leverkusen’s number 10.