Seems like those ‘Naby Keita to Liverpool’ rumours have no end. Will he ever join us? That is the million dollar…. or pound question.
The fact why Jurgen Klopp is so desperate to sign the Guinea international needs no underlining. His accessive work rate, his ruthless pressing and his breathtaking pace will no doubt add that much-needed steel to our squad and that, in one way or the other, will unleash the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Sadio Mane to another level.
But it has all come to this; The Reds first tried testing Leipzig’s resolve by offering a club record £57million fee for the 22-year-old but were firmly rejected in their attempt. The silver lining of the transfer was further quoted when Leipzig’s owner Dietrich Mateschitz revealed that they rejected an offer of around £66million from an unknown club for the midfielder.
Then came the Daily Telegraph, reporting that Liverpool have decided to shelve their pursuit, but will again make a move next year. By the time, Keita’s release clause will take a dip and Liverpool would have a chance of landing him for a price lower than what they are offering right now.
Leipzig’s boss Ralph Hasenhuttl was made aware of the news, to which he reacted, saying:
“That’s good. The chance [of him leaving] is “null”. It is 100% clear that Naby will play this year with Leipzig”, Hasenhuttl was quoted by the Metro Sport.
“At the beginning of the transfer window we said we would start with the same team with all the main players we had last year and that no one will go and that will be our answer now also.
“Everyone can see how important Naby Keita is with our game. Him and [Emil] Forsberg also. These are our two most important players on our team so it’s sure he will be with our team next year.”
Recently, Liverpool were in Germany and were scheduled to play Hertha Berlin. After the game, the German media, quite obviously, were anxious to know Liverpool’s progress in Keita’s pursuit and when asked about the same, Klopp simply replied:
“Our next offer for Keita is €300 million!”
All eyes on you Klopp….