Liverpool and Manchester City set for transfer tussle to sign 26-year-old Real Madrid star: Reports
Arne Slot's Liverpool and Pep Guardiola's Manchester City are reportedly set to compete in the transfer market to sign Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde, as per Fichajes.net.
Liverpool have been the long-term admirers of the Uruguayan midfielder and also wanted to sign Valverde last summer. The Reds underwent a complete midfield revamp, signing the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, and Wataru Endo ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.
Meanwhile, Federico Valverde signed a contract extension with Los Blancos last summer and his ongoing deal with the La Liga will expire in June 2029. However, the Reds are still in the hunt to sign a new strong and versatile midfielder. They were also linked with Spanish midfielder Martin Zubimendi but he decided to stay at Real Sociedad.
As per the aforementioned report, Arne Slot is still interested in signing Valverde. Nevertheless, they're expected to get competition from Manchester City, who are looking forward to signing the replacements for Kevin de Bruyne and Rodri.
However, Madrid are also not interested in letting Valverde leave Santiago Bernabeu soon. The 26-year-old Uruguayan has made 275 appearances for Real's senior team, bagging 24 goals and 25 assists across all competitions.
Manchester City lead Liverpool & Real Madrid in the race to sign Bundesliga star: Reports
Manchester City are reportedly the front-runners in the race to sign Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz in the summer transfer window, as per CaughtOffside. Liverpool, Chelsea, and Real Madrid are also interested in signing the German midfielder.
Pep Guardiola's side reportedly sees Wirtz as the replacement for Belgium's Kevin de Bruyne, who'll be out of contract in the summer of 2025. As per the aforementioned report, Real Madrid are reportedly willing to pay £150 million for Writz but the Cityzens are currently leading the race.
Florian Wirtz was a crucial part of Xabi Alonso's Bundesliga-winning Bayer Leverkusen side. He made 49 appearances across all competitions for Leverkusen last season, bagging 18 goals and 20 assists. The 21-year-old is also maintaining his form in the ongoing campaign, netting seven goals and assisting twice in 17 games.