Liverpool told to pay £70m for Bundesliga midfielder

Fresh from breaking their club-transfer record to sign Roma winger Mohamed Salah, Liverpool have now been told they will need to pay a staggering £70m to sign RB Leipzig star Naby Keita, reports The Guardian.

Keita has been earmarked as a top transfer target for Jurgen Klopp since the end of last season and Liverpool are now focusing their efforts on the Bundesliga midfielder after pulling off a £36.9m deal for Salah last week.

The Bundesliga outfit previously insisted Keita is categorically not for sale at any price and their change in stance will have given Liverpool slight encouragement, although the message from Germany is that it’s either £70m or nothing for the Guinea international.

Keita was one of the best players in the Bundesliga last season as Leipzig secured a second place finish behind Bayern Munich and Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side want to keep Keita and Emil Forsberg as they prepare for Champions League football next season.

Liverpool are preparing a £50m offer for the 22-year-old, who reportedly wants to leave this summer, although it remains to be seen whether they would be willing to increase their offer closer to Leipzig’s valuation or if Hasenhuttl’s side will lower their own demands.

Keita played a direct hand in 15 league goals in his box-to-box midfield role, while only Ousmane Dembele (103) completed more dribbles in the Bundesliga last season than the Leipzig No.8 (83).

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