Liverpool sign Florian Wirtz in a £116MILLION transfer from Bayer Leverkusen – with German playmaker a Premier League record signing

Liverpool have finally signed Florian Wirtz with the playmaker joining for a record-Premier League fee of £116million from German outfit Bayer Leverkusen.

The 22-year-old Germany international has signed a long-term contract at the Reds and is their third signing of the summer following the earlier arrival of his Bayer Leverkusen team-mate Jeremie Frimpong for £29.5m and Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili – who agreed to join last season.

Wirtz’s transfer surpasses the £105m Chelsea paid for Moises Caicedo from Brighton.

It’s a major coup for the Reds who have beaten Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Real Madrid to his signature.

Florian Wirtz ‘really excited’ to join Liverpool

‘I feel very happy and very proud. Finally it’s done and I was waiting for a long time – finally it’s done and I am really happy,’ he told the club’s official website.

‘I’m really excited to have a new adventure in front of me. This was also a big point of my thoughts: that I want to have something completely new, to go out of the Bundesliga and to join the Premier League.

‘I will see how I can perform there. I hope I can do my best. I spoke also with some players who played there and they told me that it’s perfect for me and every pitch is perfect, you can enjoy every game. I’m really looking forward to playing my first game.’

Asked about his targets with the club, he added: ‘I would like to win everything every year! First of all, we have to do our work, I have to make my work.

‘In the end, we want to be successful. Last season they won the Premier League so my goal is for sure to win it again and also to go further in the Champions League. I’m really ambitious.’