Arne Slot flies out to meet alternative LIV transfer target as Wirtz move stalls

Liverpool are working hard to try and get a club record deal for Florian Wirtz over the line but that hasn't stopped Arne Slot from meeting another potential transfer target

Arne Slot travelled to a scheduled transfer meeting with Rayan Cherki recently despite a significant advance in Liverpool's pursuit of the Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz, it has emerged.

The Reds have been locked in talks with the Bundesliga outfit over a deal for the sought-after Germany star. It's believed that Liverpool will have to smash their transfer record to land Wirtz, with Leverkusen valuing the 22-year-old at a monstrous £126million.

It emerged last week that Leverkusen have rejected both of Liverpool's bids to date, with an agreement yet to be reached.

Striking a deal for Wirtz clearly remains Liverpool's priority, especially now that they essentially have a free run at the player after Bayern Munich pulled out of the race - but that hasn't stopped Slot from meeting Cherki for face-to-face talks.

As first revealed by The Athletic, the Lyon attacking midfielder held talks with Slot in France last week after the Dutchman left his holiday briefly.

Cherki, 21, is widely expected to join Manchester City but is also on Liverpool's radar. And the club and Slot decided to proceed with said meeting - which was scheduled before their pursuit of Wirtz accelerated - to cover all bases in the case of any unexpected developments in negotiations with Leverkusen.

The report goes on to add that City are favourites to sign Cherki after shelving their own plans to go after Wirtz, who favours a move to Anfield after being wooed in talks.

Claims that Cherki has a €22.5m (£19m) release clause in his contract are false, the report adds, with Lyon determined to secure a far more substantial fee despite the fact that the player's deal expires next summer.

With talks over a deal for Wirtz continuing, there is optimism that an agreement will be reached despite the current stalemate. It has been speculated that a player could move in the opposite direction with Harvey Elliott and Jarrel Quansah admired by Leverkusen.

Liverpool are also likely to pursue a deal for the Bournemouth left-back, Milos Kerkez, while Hugo Ekitike of Eintracht Frankfurt has emerged as a striker target.

L'Equipe, however, have now claimed that Chelsea are 'clear' in their pursuit of the £60million-rated France Under-21 star, with the Blues aiming to follow up their capture of Liam Delap from Ipswich Town with the former PSG starlet.