Liverpool have agreed terms with Naby Keita and the Guinean wants to come, but nothing will happen unless Red Bull Leipzig change their stance and agree to do business with us.
In order for that to happen, the 22-year-old is holding ‘showdown talks’ with his German club this week, reports James Pearce in the Echo.
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If Keita can convince RB Leipzig that he no longer wants to play for them and sees his future on Merseyside instead, perhaps they’ll change their stance and reluctantly sit down at the negotiating table with us.
A fee of £70m has been widely mooted, which would almost double the transfer record we recently broke to acquire Mo Salah from Roma.
Liverpool know Keita has a £48m release-clause which becomes active next summer, but Klopp desperately wants him now ahead of our Champions League campaign – before the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona start sniffing around.
Interestingly, our chances of signing Virgil van Dijk largely lie with the player too. If the Dutchman throws his toys out of the pram and demands a move away from St. Mary’s, the Saints will have little choice but to take the money.