Liverpool are attempting to bring forward the signing of Naby Keïta from RB Leipzig to this month. Jürgen Klopp is keen to add the Guinea international to his squad for the second half of the season following the £142 million (€160 million) sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona.
An agreement to purchase Keïta for his £48 million (€54 million) release clause this summer was settled last August, with Liverpool also expected to pay a premium of about £6 million to complete the central midfielder’s move to Anfield. However after Coutinho’s British record transfer to Barça last week, Klopp is hopeful Leipzig could be persuaded to allow the 22-year-old to leave five months earlier than planned.
Despite failing to reach the Champions League knockout stage, the Bundesliga side are understood to be reluctant to sanction the move this month and have asked Liverpool to increase their offer by £17.8 million (€20 million). That would take the total cost of the transfer past the £70 million mark, with Klopp having already spent £75 million bringing in the defender Virgil van Dijk from Southampton in this window.
Leipzig are fifth in the Bundesliga table before the resumption of the league programme this weekend and would prefer to keep Keïta until the end of the season as they attempt to qualify for the Champions League once more. They also face Napoli in the last 32 of the Europa League next month, although reports in Germany have suggested the player signed from Leipzig’s sister club Red Bull Salzburg in 2016 has been pushing for an early move to Anfield.
Coutinho replacement
Keïta will meet Leipzig officials before the weekend to discuss his situation, although the coach, Ralph Hasenhüttl, insisted on Thursday he does not expect his star player to leave the club this month.
“Nothing has changed,” he said. “We don’t have reason to sell before the summer. I think Naby wants to finish the season in a good way in Leipzig.”
Nonetheless Keïta is believed to have stopped learning German and instead started English classes as he prepares for life in the Premier League. He was pictured at training on Thursday before Saturday’s match against Schalke amid speculation his move could be close.
Klopp has previously indicated he is in no rush to find a replacement for Coutinho. Monaco’s Thomas Lemar – who is valued at £90 million – is under serious consideration but is likely to be targeted in the summer if the Keïta deal can be brought forward. However the Monaco coach, Leonardo Jardim, has admitted he would be powerless to stop the 22-year-old leaving if his valuation is met.
“Today the market is open. You know how crazy the market is,” he said on Thursday. “Things happen that even a club like Monaco cannot say no to. It happened to Liverpool [with Coutinho]. Things are as they are. The numbers today are incredibly big. Everything can change. The things I can say today are not true tomorrow.
“In the last two transfer windows, last summer and this winter, the numbers have gone up enormously. I still want to keep Lemar. If I stay here for 10 years I want Lemar to stay with me for 10 years. He is young, he can still play for 10 years. He has a lot of qualities, I like him a lot.”
– Guardian
