RB Leipzig have made sure to remind Liverpool and their fans that Naby Keita remains a member of the German club for the remainder of the season by posting a funny update on Twitter. The Guinea international is already set to make the move to Anfield in the summer for a fee in the region of £57m.
But with Philippe Coutinho departing for Barcelona last month, Jurgen Klopp was expected to step up his efforts to bring in midfield reinforcements. Our manager wanted to bring the Guinean midfielder to the club six months prior to the expected arrival date.
However, RB Leipzig stood firm in their stance of not letting Keita leave for the Merseyside giants earlier than expected and reminded Liverpool of the same by taking a playful dig at them. After the winter transfer window officially ended yesterday, the German outfit posted a celebratory tweet. The post on Twitter included a GIF of Keita dancing with the caption: “It’s February 1st!”
With Liverpool failing in their attempts to secure an early move for Keita, the 22-year-old will remain with the Bundesliga side for the rest of the campaign. Leipzig always made it clear that they had no intention of letting the player leave the club in January, with Keita considered as a vital cog to their cause.
Leipzig sporting director Ralf Rangnick confirmed that the player would remain in Germany until the end of the season.
“We won’t allow Liverpool to sign him early,” he was quoted by the Liverpool Echo.
“They have shown renewed interest to bring him in during this transfer window. As everyone knows, we are not a selling club, therefore it would only have been possible had we reached a mutual agreement involving an exorbitant additional fee. That is not the case.”
We will, therefore, have to wait for another four months to see Keita at Anfield. The Guinean caught the eyes of a lot of big clubs with his smashing performances for Leipzig last season. Liverpool somehow succeeded in getting a deal done for the talented midfielder in the summer.
Keita has failed to live up to the standards he had set last campaign, however, he has scored 6 goals in 22 appearances for Leipzig this season. And if I had to comment on Leipzig’s Twitter post, then it is top banter!
