Florian Wirtz regret? Liverpool target Turkish playmaker ‘phenomenon’ who ‘will be a Ballon d’Or winner’ – report

Liverpool have taken a shine to one of Europe’s best young playmakers despite signing Florian Wirtz in the summer transfer window, according to a report, but a deal may not be easy for Arne Slot and Richard Hughes to pull off.

Wirtz was one of the biggest signings in the summer of 2025, with Liverpool paying Bayer Leverkusen an initial £100million (€115m, $134m) for the Germany international attacking midfielder, with a further £16m (€18.4m, $21.5m) to come in add-ons. The 22-year-old arrived at Anfield having won the Bundesliga with Bayer in 2023/24 and scoring 57 goals in 197 appearances for the German club, while also registering 65 assists.

The 22-year-old’s start to his Liverpool career has been less than impressive, with the playmaker not scoring or giving an assist in nine appearances in the Premier League and the Champions League, as Arne Slot also dropped him from the starting line-up for last weekend’s defeat to Chelsea.

While it is too early to say that Wirtz will not eventually come good for Liverpool and it would certainly be ridiculous to suggest that the defending Premier League champion could sell him anytime soon, given the huge outlay on him, interest in Kenan Yildiz suggests that there might be regrets already at Anfield.

According to TBR, Liverpool are among the clubs interested in Yildiz and are keeping a close eye on the Juventus star.

Blessed with the ability to play in a number of roles in attack. Including as a number 10, Yildiz has played as a second striker for Juventus so far this season, scoring two goals and providing four assists in the process.

During the 2024/25 campaign, Yildiz scored 12 goals and provided nine assists in 52 matches in all competitions for Juventus.

The 20-year-old Turkey international’s impressive performances have drawn widespread praise, including from former Man Utd and Italy international forward Giuseppe Rossi, who told TuttoMercatoWeb: “A super Yildiz.

“The Turk is a phenomenon and will be a Ballon d’Or winner in the future: he’s 20, but he plays like a 30-year-old with a 100 Champions League appearances.”

According to journalist Graeme Bailey in TBR, Liverpool have ‘a historic interest’ in Yildiz and are ‘keeping tabs’ on him.

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Juventus stance on selling Kenan Yildiz

Liverpool, though, are not the only club keen on Yildiz, with Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich also interested in the youngster.

However, Juventus have no plans to sell their prized asset and are aiming to hand him a new deal.

Bailey said: “Damien Comolli only arrived in the summer, but he made a big impact.

“He completed the captures of Jonathan David and Lois Openda, but he is very much looking at keeping hold of their top talents, and there is nobody more important than Yildiz.

“Yildiz looks like a superstar and Juve know that most of Europe’s top clubs would take him at the drop of a hat, but he is now working on a new deal and the hope is he signs and then that shows that he is not on the market anytime soon.”

According to TuttoJuve, a Juventus-centric website, Chelsea have had a bid of between €65 and €68million (up to £59m, $80m) for Yildiz turned down, with Juventus considering him ‘a key player for the future’.

Reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano, too, has revealed Juventus’ plan to keep Yildiz for the long term.

Romano said on his YouTube channel in Italian: “I believe that, with his contract expiring in 2029, it’s more of a pressing issue than a matter of urgency – because it’s already a very long contract – but above all, Juve’s desire to give Yildiz what he deserves financially, also to get ahead of the transfer window a little.

“Sometimes renewals are made because they have to be done in terms of timing, so there’s an urgency to renew contracts to avoid surprises.

“In this case, I believe Juve wants to avoid finding themselves in a situation where Yildiz could receive a very large offer from abroad and say, ‘OK, but my salary is low, I’d rather go somewhere else.’

“Yildiz has shown great affection for Juventus so far, not only with his performances but also during the summer.

“If Yildiz had wanted to move to the Premier League, I assure you he could have done so at the start of the transfer window.

“Chelsea have always been very interested, and the Premier League’s interest remains because Yildiz is a fantastic player, so it’s normal to see the attention of the big clubs.

“But Juventus, as I said, is working on a renewal and is optimistic; they want to reach a solution as soon as possible to ward off any other temptation for a champion like Kenan Yildiz.”

Latest Liverpool news: Paul Scholes accusation, selling Mo Salah

Wirtz is not the only Liverpool player who is not at his best at the moment, with Manchester United legend Paul Scholes accusing the Reds of unsettling another Anfield star by making a lot of signings in the summer transfer window.

Mohamed Salah, too, is not having the best of times, and we’ve taken a look at both his struggles and analysed whether FSG should sell the Egyptian superstar.

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