Liverpool told to pay in excess of €60m for top transfer target

RB Leipzig have told Liverpool they will need to shatter their club transfer record and shell out €60m (£52m) to have any chance of signing top transfer target Naby Keita this summer, reports The Times via Get German Football.

Jurgen Klopp has been told by the Liverpool board that significant funds will be made available to strengthen the squad this summer after securing Champions League football for next season and the Liverpool boss is already looking to secure his No.1 target.

Keita, 22, has enjoyed a breathtaking campaign for Leipzig and Ralph Hassenhuttl’s side, who finished second in the Bundesliga this season, are under no pressure to sell any of their star players this summer after securing Champions League football at the first attempt.

“We have decided that we will not sell any player from our starting line-up,”Leipzig CEO Oliver Mintzlaff told The Times. “Ralf Rangnick [Leipzig’s sporting director] told this to our team at the end of the season. We will keep our team together and keep on developing.”

There is also the fact that Keita’s current deal is not due to expire until 2020 and it would require Liverpool submitting one of the biggest bids in British football history to have any chance of landing the Guinea international.

Keita weighed in with an impressive eight goals and seven assists from central midfield in his first season in the Bundesliga, while only teammate Emil Forsberg (7.75) secured a higher WhoScored rating for the club this term (Keita - 7.60).

For more stats on Naby Keita, click here to visit his WhoScored player page