Liverpool are still trying to complete a deal to sign Naby Keita from RB Leipzig that will smash our transfer record, according to the Liverpool Echo.

The report claims that we had initially offered £57million for the 22-year-old but that was rejected by the Bundesliga club. The next bid would be around £65million and this could be enough to clinch the deal as Keita has also stated that he wants to complete a dream move to Anfield.

One reason why we have had to stump up such a huge amount is due to Keita’s contract with the Bundesliga club stretching until 2020. The German club had earlier stated that they would not be willing to sell the 22-year-old midfielder but it seems the record transfer being paid for the Guinea international is enough to change their mind.

This would be the second time we would break our transfer record in the summer as we also signed Mohamed Salah from AS Roma and there still could be a few more additions before the end of the window.

Klopp Finally Nabs Keita

The German manager is a big fan of the 22-year-old, who was only second to Robert Lewandowski in the best player award in the Bundesliga. Keita is expected to partner Jordan Henderson in midfield and the Leipzig man also has a decent record in front of goal, having scored 8 times last season in the Bundesliga.

Keita also chipped in with 8 assists in the league and he is great when it comes to tackling and ending opposition attacks. The Guinea international also has bundles of energy – something that is a requirement for our style of football and will be a perfect fit into the system.

The price certainly will be a huge talking point for the future as Keita is clearly the most expensive player we would have ever signed and it would take some doing to break that record too. There will be pressure on the 22-year-old to perform from the get-go but if we are to go by Klopp’s transfers, most of our players have performed.

There will now be a lot of competition for the midfield slots as Keita would join Emre Can, Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson, and Adam Lallana, while even Philippe Coutinho could be shifted to midfield in the coming season.

Keita is a quality act, at least from the basis of last season. If he can play at the same level, we would have landed a player that can take us to the next level.

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