No one claimed that transfers were simple. Particularly considering how much Liverpool is prepared to spend to become the club’s record-breaking acquisition of Florian Wirtz, an attacking midfielder for Bayer Leverkusen.
The Reds are still in negotiations with their Bundesliga rivals to break the impasse and understand the 22-year-old’sdesireto join Arne Slot’s Premier League winners.
Leverkusen, who have so far been adamant that they want €150 million (£125 million) for a player who has turned down interest from both Manchester City and Bayern Munich in favor of Anfield, has rejected Liverpool’s second bid of €130 million (£109 million).
England under-21 stars Harvey Elliott and Jarell Quansah are the two most well-known names that have been mentioned in relation to Leverkusen’s alleged willingness to consider acquiring a current Liverpool player as part of the deal in order to help close the valuation gap between the two clubs.
However, it is believed that Simon Rolfes, the managing director of sport at Leverkusen, is not a fan of player-exchange agreements. Additionally, a look at Liverpool’s transfer history—both in terms of players sold and acquired—indicates why taking such a path would be deemed foolish.
The Reds have, in fact, had few player swaps, whether direct or partial, for good reason; none have been carried out while the team was owned by Fenway Sports Group.
In August 2010, on the day of the deadline, Liverpool, under Roy Hodgson, agreed to pay £3.5 million for Paul Konchesky, while Alex Kacaniklic and Lauri Dalla Valle, both from the Academy, were valued at £1.5 million each.
Konchesky spent just 18 games with Liverpool before being sold to Leicester City less than a year later following a loan stint at Nottingham Forest.
The Rafael Benitez era saw a number of player exchanges. In the deal that saw Michael Owen move to the Bernabeu for £8.5 million, Antonio Nunez arrived as a £1.5 million makeweight from Real Madrid. Before joining Celta Vigo less than a year later, Nunez’s lone goal in 27 games came in the League Cup final loss to Chelsea.
In a straight-forward trade, Liverpool let Jan Kromkamp join from Villarreal while Josemi left, though the Dutchman only played 18 games before departing less than eight months later.
While John Welsh left for Hull City in exchange for teenager Paul Anderson, who failed to establish himself as a senior at Anfield, Gabriel Paletta moved to Boca Juniors, extending Emiliano Insua’s loan at Liverpool.
Additionally, one of Graeme Souness’s most notorious moves as manager of the Premier League in its early years was sending Mike Marsh and David Burrows to West Ham United in exchange for Julian Dicks, who played for the Reds just 28 times before Roy Evans traded him.
Naturally, initiating communication with clubs regarding transfers can result in additional transfers. On the same day Diogo Jota made the opposite trip for £45 million, Ki-Jana Hoever left for Wolves in a £13.5 million package, though it wasn’t presented as a trade.
In July 2017, on the same day that Kevin Stewart moved to Humberside in a £8 million package, Andy Robertson signed a £10 million contract to join from Hull City.
Liverpool is still certain that they can work out a deal to acquire Wirtz. However, if a Reds player is going the other way, that would be unexpected.