Bayer Leverkusen have called Bournemouth to enquire on the availability of Justin Kluivert, talkSPORT understands.

The German side are shortlisting replacements for Florian Wirtz, who is set to join Liverpool for an initial £100m with a further £16m in add-ons.

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New Leverkusen manager, and former Manchester United boss, Erik ten Hag is understood to be driving the potential move, viewing Kluivert as the perfect profile to fill the void left by Wirtz.

Bournemouth have made it clear to Leverkusen that Kluivert is not for sale. However, owner Bill Foley has said in the past he won’t unduly stand in the way of player exits at the right price.

The Cherries have already lost Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid this summer, and Milos Kerkez is expected to be Liverpool’s next addition. 

Bournemouth could also be open to offers for Illia Zabarnyi, who is drawing interest from Paris Saint-Germain and Antoine Semenyo has considerable Premier League interest.

Unlike Huijsen, none of these players, Kluivert included, have release clauses.

Kluivert, 26, is contracted until 2028.

He scored 12 goals and managed six assists in the Premier League last season as Andoni Iraola’s side finished with a club-record Premier League tally of 56 points.

Bournemouth have not set an asking price, but if they did choose to sell it’s believed Kluivert would likely cost well over double the £9.6m fee the club paid to Roma in June 2023.

Ten Hag is playing a key role in recruitment at Leverkusen this summer having replaced Xabi Alonso and it’s understood he views Kluivert as well-suited to his system and capable of adding much-needed goals and assists due to Wirtz’s absence.

It remains to be seen whether a deal is possible, or Leverkusen return with a bid, but Bournemouth made it clear their firm preference is to keep hold of the versatile Dutch attacker.

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Kluivert is the son of the legendary Patrick, and initially broke through at Ajax.

Stints at Roma, Leipzig, Nice and Valencia followed, but it’s been under Andoni Iraola where he’s really found his feet.

A goal return of 13 is his career best, and 21 goal contributions in all competitions eclipses a previous high of 15 at Ajax in 2017/18.

The Amsterdam-born talent also secured a piece of Premier League history during the 2024/25 campaign, becoming the first player to score a hat-trick of penalties in a 4-2 win over Wolves in December.

Kluivert’s form has also seen him break into Ronald Koeman’s Dutch squad, featuring in both of their June fixtures to make it five international caps in 2025 – his most in a calendar year.

For Leverkusen, coughing up the necessary cash for Kluivert shouldn’t be an issue after their massive sales.

Making close to £140m alone from selling Frimpong and Wirtz to Liverpool will have filled the bank for the 2024 Bundesliga champions.

They’ve also reportedly received bonus payments from Bayern Munich and Real Madrid for Jonathan Tah and Xabi Alonso in order for the pair to feature at the Club World Cup.

So far they’ve brought in former Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken, and a pair of impressive youngsters in Ibrahim Maza from Hertha Berlin and Tim Oermann from Bochum.