Liverpool have already been busy in the summer transfer market with the signing of Jeremie Frimpong and are now closing in on a move for his Bayer Leverkusen teammate Florian Wirtz

Germany's Rhineland clubs - namely Leverkusen, Koln and Borussia Monchengladbach - were all reported to have a gentleman's agreement not to 'steal' one another's youth talent, dating back to 2001, when Koln tracked and signed Leverkusen's then-12-year-old starlet Marco Quotschalla with the lure of an eight-year contract.