According to the The Times’ Paul Joyce, signing RB Leipzig’s Naby Keita could cost Jürgen Klopp over £50 million.
After finishing in the top four and all but confirming that Champions League football will return to Anfield next season, Liverpool have a monumental transfer window before them.
Along with playing in Europe’s top competition comes the added bonus of being able to attract the best footballers on the continent. This pull has eluded Liverpool for several years and has led many high-profile signings to join rivals instead.
This summer, however, Liverpool can use the Champions League bargaining chip to convince Europe’s top dogs that Jurgen Klopp’s side is going places. A player that has been reportedly linked with the club is RB Leipzig’s Naby Keita but it won’t be easy to sign the dynamic midfielder.
According to Paul Joyce of The Times, in order to sign Keita, Klopp will have to spend more than £50 million. RB Leipzig are in a good situation financially, their players are all on long-term contracts and the club has ambitions of competing in the Champions League next season.
In short, the club doesn’t want to and doesn’t have to sell any of their best players this summer. Oliver Mintzlaff, Leipzig’s chief executive has said as much and insists that RBL won’t sell it’s most important players.
“We have decided that we will not sell any player from our starting line-up,“ he said.
“Ralf Rangnick [sporting director] told this to our team at the end of the season. We will keep our team together and keep on developing.”
Paul Joyce reports that Liverpool could try and convince Leipzig to reconsider with a bid in the region of £50 million – which would destroy the current transfer record of £35 million for Andy Carroll in 2011.
Liverpool have also been reported as chasing Southampton’s Virgil Van Dijk. Numerous reports have indicated that it would also cost £50 million to sign the Dutchman.
Although FSG are said to have handed Klopp the biggest transfer budget in the club’s history, I would be massively surprised if he spent £100 million on just two players. Granted these two players would make a huge difference to his starting lineup and could be exactly what Liverpool need to take that next step forward.
As I already said, it’s a huge summer ahead for Klopp and the likes of Van Dijk and Keita could be weighing heavily on the German’s mind.