Sky reporter suggests Liverpool could sacrifice one player in prospective Florian Wirtz transfer | OneFootball

Liverpool could reportedly be prepared to try and sweeten the deal for Bayer Leverkusen in order to secure the signature of Florian Wirtz.

The Reds now appear to be in firm command of the transfer race for the 22-year-old, with Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer effectively confirming defeat in their pursuit of the Germany international.

The playmaker has seemingly been swayed towards Anfield after a conversation with Arne Slot, and Fabrizio Romano has indicated that LFC are now pushing ahead to try and close the deal ‘as soon as possible’.

Liverpool could offer one player to Leverkusen as sweetener for Wirtz deal

An update from a reliable German source suggests that there may yet be something in it for Leverkusen other than the sizeable transfer fee they’ll inevitably receive for Wirtz.

Taking to X on Saturday morning, Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg claimed that the Bundesliga runners-up are ‘keen to reach a swift agreement with Liverpool’, with the progress of a deal largely contingent on the composition of the first offer from Merseyside.

He claimed that there is ‘discussion around a deal’ which could see Die Werkself receiving a player from the Reds in addition to the transfer fee, with the BayArena outfit in the market for a goalkeeper, centre-back and possibly a striker.

Who could Liverpool sacrifice in order to push through a deal for Wirtz?

If Liverpool are to sacrifice a current member of Slot’s squad as an incentive to try and secure the signing of Wirtz, who could potentially be heading to Leverkusen in exchange for the 22-year-old?

Earlier this week, German outlet Fussball Transfers namechecked Harvey Elliott as someone who’s on the wish list at the BayArena, and the Reds’ number 19 was also mentioned by David Ornstein among a group of seven players who could viably leave Anfield this summer.

(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Although the ex-Fulham youngster doesn’t fit any of the positions that Die Werkself are targeting, he could represent a like-for-like exchange with Wirtz in terms of one attacking midfielder making way for another, so it’s not inconceivable that LFC may offer him to Leverkusen as part of a prospective deal.

In order for that to happen, whichever Liverpool squad member is earmarked for inclusion on a possible player-plus-cash deal with the Bundesliga runners-up would need to be amenable to a move which’d effectively cast them in the role of sacrificial lamb.

With Richard Hughes seemingly making solid progress on a swoop for the Germany international, let’s hope that there isn’t a nasty sting in the tail which causes the entire pursuit to collapse.