Keita won’t join Liverpool this month, says RB Leipzig boss

RB Leipzig head coach Ralph Hasenhuttl insists Naby Keita will not join Liverpool until the end of the season.

Liverpool want to accelerate their deal for Keita to this month following the departure of Philippe Coutinho last weekend.

Reports emerged from Germany suggesting Leipzig would allow Keita to move to Anfield in the January transfer window if Liverpool paid an extra £17m on top of the £54m deal they agreed in the summer, but Hasenhuttl insists that is not true.

“There is nothing new about this situation and so that speculation is not true,” The Daily Telegraph quote the Leipzig coach as saying on Thursday. “Nothing has changed and our position hasn’t changed from before regarding this transfer.”

Liverpool have already shelled out £75m to sign Virgil Van Dijk this month and Keita’s early arrival would only enhance their chances of securing a top-4 finish, with the title already out of reach.

While Keita’s performances haven’t been as consistently spectacularly this season as they were last term, only Neymar (6.3), Diego Perotti (6.2) and Yacine Brahimi (5.5) average more dribbles per game than Keita (4.8).