Florian Wirtz's staggering Liverpool salary demands as talks reach crucial stage

Florian Wirtz will become Liverpool's second-best paid player behind Mohamed Salah if he completes a record-breaking transfer from Bayer Leverkusen in the coming days

Florian Wirtz is set to treble his wages if he seals a record transfer to Liverpool, with the Germany playmaker expecting to bank an eye-watering £355,000-per-week.

The Premier League champions have submitted a third bid - £100m up front with £15m extra in add-ons - that Bayer Leverkusen look set to reject as they hold out for an estimated £124m up front.

But talks remain active between the clubs and a report in Bild says that the Bundesliga player of the season will also become the Reds’ second best-paid player if he rocks up at Anfield - behind Mohamed Salah ’s £400,000 but ahead of Virgil van Dijk’s £350,000.

Wirtz, 22, has made it clear that Liverpool is the destination he wants and Manchester City have stepped back from their initial interest.

Sporting director Richard Hughes is at the forefront of the negotiations and Wirtz is prepared to jet in for a medical next week after featuring for his national team against France in Sunday afternoon’s UEFA Nations League third-place play-off.

On Friday Leverkusen published images promoting their pre-season tour to Brazil - from July 14 to 24 - featuring an image of Wirtz. The club will use the training facilities of Flamengo while in Rio de Janeiro.

But there is a growing expectation that he will be leaving the Bundesliga's second-placed team with Bild saying that the player has already agreed a contract until the summer of 2030 while talks around the fee continue.

Liverpool have already completed the signing of full back Jeremie Frimpong - their replacement for Real Madrid-departing Trent Alexander-Arnold - from Leverkusen and are looking to seal a £45m deal for Bournemouth ’s Milos Kerkez in the coming days.

Arne Slot's squad is also likely to be bolstered with a new centre forward amid doubts around the future of Darwin Nunez. The Uruguayan has struggled to settle in two seasons at the club and remains linked with a switch to Atletico Madrid, whose head coach Diego Simeone is a major fan.

Earlier this week former Reds striker Emile Heskey claimed that the club "have got to" strengthen at No9 ahead of next season's attempted defence of their Premier League title.