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German football expert Constantin Eckner believes Florian Wirtz chose Liverpool over Bayern Munich because he will be the star playmaker at the Premier League champions.

Eckner told BBC Sport Wirtz and his family spoke to Bayern Munich, among other clubs, but a conversation with Reds boss Arne Slot convinced him to make the move to Anfield from Bayer Leverkusen.

"What ultimately influenced his decision is that Arne Slot in particular offered Wirtz the best plan for the next couple of years, meaning Wirtz will be Liverpool's number 10 - the centrepiece," said Eckner.

"Of course Mohamed Salah is still there, but how many more years will he play for Liverpool? His days are somewhat numbered. Then, Wirtz will be the centrepiece of the Reds attacking system.

"At Bayern, Wirtz would have been one of two playmakers alongside Jamal Musiala. These two play together for the national team, but still Wirtz wouldn't have been the main playmaker for Bayern - so I feel like that's something that influenced his decision."

Liverpool are set to swoop for Paris St-Germain's 22-year-old forward Bradley Barcola - even after completing a deal for Bayer Leverkusen's attacker Florian Wirtz, 22. (Sun), external

Bayer Leverkusen are considering a move for Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah, 22. (Athletic - subscription required), external

Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez is likely to leave Liverpool this summer, with Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal making about the 25-year-old this week. (Talksport), external

Nunez, though, is understood to favour staying in Europe, with a move to Spain or Italy his preference. (Mirror), external

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Florian Wirtz will become the 10th player to go for a fee of £100m or more if his move to Liverpool completes as expected.

The British record for an initial fee remains Chelsea's £107m recruit of Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez in 2023.

Months later, the Blues signed Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo for an initial £100m fee - that could rise to a British club record of £115m.

Wirtz's fee would be only about half that of the world record, which remains the £200m Paris St-Germain paid for Brazil superstar Neymar in 2017.

Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

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Liverpool's move for Bayer Leverkusen playmaker Florian Wirtz is at an advanced stage, with the clubs in discussions over the structure of a transfer that could be worth £114m.

The Reds submitted a third formal bid for the playmaker last week, worth £100m guaranteed and a further £14m of add-ons.

If completed, it would smash the club's £75m record g of captain Virgil van Dijk from Southampton.

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. Leverkusen had valued the midfielder at about £126m.

Wirtz, 22, has made it clear that his preference is to move to Anfield following interest from Manchester City and Bayern Munich.

He made his debut for Leverkusen at the age of 17 and has scored 57 goals in 197 games for the club.

He helped them win the Bundesliga for the first time in 2024 and has scored seven goals in 31 appearances for .

Manchester United hold bragging rights as the most popular Premier League club across social platforms, according to CIES Football Observatory., external

Ranking third overall behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, Manchester United total 233.6 million subscribers and followers across X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.

Rivals Manchester City are second highest out of Premier League clubs and fifth overall with 179.5m, with Liverpool (166.7m) and Chelsea (152.9m) just behind.

Arsenal also make the global top 10 with 114.1m, meaning there are five English teams inside the top 10.

Spurs just miss out in 11th with 108.1m, but they did gain an extra 700,000 followers over their North London rivals since June 2024.

A total of 15 English clubs make the top 100, with Leeds United squeezing into the 100th spot with 6.4m.

While fans may not sing about social media followers, global interest has a hand in paying the bills at their beloved football clubs.

Florian Wirtz is set for a Liverpool medical after they agreed a deal in principle with Bayer Leverkusen for the 22-year-old midfielder, worth £127m including add-ons. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Hungary left-back Milos Kerkez, 21, is on the verge of a £45m move to Liverpool from Bournemouth. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

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Liverpool have confirmed the final fixtures of their pre-season programme with a double-header against Athletic Bilbao.

The back-to-back matches will take place at Anfield on Monday, 4 August at 17:00 and 20:00 BST.

They will be the final friendlies Liverpool play before getting the new season under way with the Community Shield match against Crystal Palace at Wembley the following Sunday.

The games against Athletic round off a summer schedule that includes a pre-season tour of Asia where the Reds will take on AC Milan in Hong Kong on 26 July before a meeting with J1 League club Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan on 30 July.

Arne Slot's side's first pre-season game is against Preston North End at Deepdale on 13 July.

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Pepijn Lijnders once called Jurgen Klopp his "proper football brother," but now he has ed one of his biggest rivals in Pep Guardiola.

Manchester City have confirmed Lijnders will become a part of Guardiola's coaching staff, along with former Liverpool opposition analyst James French.

The 42-year-old was Klopp's assistant when Liverpool won the Premier League and Champions League, standing down from the role when the German left the club in 2024.

Speaking last year, Lijnders told the Liverpool club website: "I always said I will finish with Jurgen; the moment I will not assist anyone else, that's the moment I will go and I will manage. That was always the case.

"I owe this club everything. They don't owe me anything, to be honest. It's 10 years full of dedication. So when we [me and Jurgen] spoke, it was clear for me, I go and manage, and we end this project together," he added.

Lijnders has had two spells as a manager - briefly leaving Liverpool in 2018 to manage NEC in the Netherlands, before a spell with Red Bull Salzburg at the beginning of last season, with both culminating in his dismissal.

Without a club since December, the Dutchman has taken the step back from being a manager and once again will be an assistant.

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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The mini transfer window has been interesting with some intriguing stories.

Matheus Cunha to Manchester United seems to make some sense, certainly more that many of their transfer deals in the past few years. At least Cunha has proved he can do it in the Premier League.

Liam Delap had his pick of a few clubs because of his affordable £30 million buyout fee. Well done to the agent who got that written into his contract. Trent Alexander-Arnold is older but still big news. However, I do not think he is the most important deal done in this window thus far.

There was not too much fanfare following Dean Huijsen's £50million move from Bournemouth to Real Madrid but it is hard to imagine any other transferred player having the same long-term impact.

Liverpool might have been tempted by him as the eventual replacement for Virgil van Dijk, but then Huijsen was unlikely to turn down Real, having already elected to represent Spain over his birth nation, the Netherlands.

The 20-year-old is a class act. It is very unusual for such a young centre-back to be so assured and mature. My suspicion has always been that he will be an enduring world star if he steers clear of major injuries.

Trent grabbed much more attention in the short term, but Dean is more likely to be the long-term superstar Galactico in Madrid.

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We asked for your views on whether Liverpool need to act before the first of the two summer transfer windows shuts on Tuesday.

Here are some of your comments:

Jay: After all the hype, it would be tragic if we couldn't get Milos Kerkez and Florian Wirtz over the line. I think they're nailed on to come, but it would just be rubbish for the players and fans to have it dragging on. I'm still hoping for a number nine leaving and arriving. Slot has given enough chances to Darwin Nunez now. Something has to give.

Christian: I really want the Wirtz saga to be done before this window closes. After Jude Bellingham and Moises Caicedo, I'd hate to see another big transfer fizzle out. Kerkez, I assume, will be done in the next window. As regards exits, Harvey Elliott, Nunez, and Federico Chiesa seem most likely, but I have no burning desire to see any players leave. We need a squad big enough to cope with going deep in all competitions.

Alastair: It would be good to tie down Wirtz and Kerkez and spend the next week planning for the main window when we may see a central striker added to allow Slot to mirror PSG's fluid formations.

Adam: I think we will get our business done early before we allow anyone to leave. But this window will make no difference as we have no competitive game between now and the Community Shield. Striker, left-back, and young centre-back with Wirtz, and we will be leading the way.

Chris: I think the priority has to be getting the current two deals over the line, then once the window re-opens, start looking at a proper centre-forward.

Ken: While there is no urgent need for gs to be ed before this first deadline, it would be nice to get over the line with Wirtz and Kerkez. That would enable the club to move to the next phase of the window by arranging a few outgoings and a few more incoming gs to strengthen areas like the centre-back and forward positions.