Liverpool's pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen's highly-rated playmaker, Florian Wirtz, is reportedly at an advanced stage, with both clubs currently engaged in discussions over the structure of a transfer that could be worth £114 million. The Reds submitted a third formal bid for the Germany playmaker last week, which comprises a guaranteed sum of £100 million, supplemented by a further £14 million in performance-related add-ons.

If this significant transfer is completed, it would smash Liverpool's existing club transfer record. The current record is held by captain Virgil van Dijk, who joined the club from Southampton in 2018 for a fee of £75 million.

Sources have told BBC Sport that talks are now focused on the structure of the final details of the transfer, including the value of the add-ons and how achievable they are. Bayer Leverkusen had valued the midfielder at around £126 million.

Florian Wirtz, 22, has made it clear that his preference is to move to Anfield, despite attracting interest from other European powerhouses such as Manchester City and Bayern Munich. This preference could be a significant factor in the progression of the transfer negotiations.

Wirtz has enjoyed an impressive career since making his debut for Bayer Leverkusen at the age of 17. He has since scored 57 goals in 197 games for the club. A notable achievement in his career was helping Leverkusen win the Bundesliga title for the first time in 2024.

On the international stage, Wirtz has also made a significant impact for Germany. Since making his national debut in 2021, he has earned 31 caps and scored seven goals for his country.

This potential acquisition of Wirtz would not be Liverpool's first piece of business with Bayer Leverkusen this summer. The Anfield club has already signed full-back Jeremie Frimpong from the German club in a deal reported to be worth £34 million.

Should the transfer for Wirtz go through at the proposed fee, he would become the 10th player ever to command a transfer fee of £100 million or more. For context, the British record for an initial fee remains Chelsea's £107 million recruitment of Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez in 2023. Months later, the Blues also signed Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo for an initial £100 million fee, a deal that could rise to a British club record of £115 million with add-ons. Wirtz's fee, while substantial, would be only half that of the world record, which remains the £200 million Paris Saint-Germain paid for Neymar in 2017.