KLOPP WANTS NABY KEITA NOW DESPITE £48MILLION RELEASE CLAUSE IN 2018

Naby Keita is open to a move away from RB Leipzig this summer but it would take a fee around €80m to prize him away from the Bundesliga runners up, report Melissa Reddy and James Pearce.

On Monday it emerged that Keita is keen on a move to Anfield and believes that he can become one of the Premier League’s best midfield players.

Liverpool had aimed to sign Keita for a fee around £45m-£50m but its become clear that it would take a fee around £30m more than that to tempt Leipzig in to a sale.

Interestingly, James Pearce has confirmed that Keita does have a £48m release clause that comes in to play next summer. This could be a big factor in negotiations and Liverpool must decide whether to press on with a deal now or wait 12 months before trying to secure the midfielder for a much lower fee.

READ MORE: Liverpool aiming to raise over £100m in sales this summer 

Pearce does outline that the club would much rather sign Keita this summer as the club gear up for their first Champions League campaign under Jürgen Klopp.

What has also been revealed this evening is that, although Keita is open to a move away from Leipzig, it is not believed that he will force a move away from the club. Leipzig themselves have Champions League football to look forward to and Keita owes the German outfit a lot for giving him the chance to emerge as one of Europe’s most impressive midfielders.

Melissa Reddy does claim that Leipzig could be tempted by a fee that would break the Bundesliga transfer record, which currently stands at €75m, although the exchange rate would push that figure up by around £11m.

READ MORE: Robbie Fowler says Liverpool cannot just be content with Mohamed Salah signing 

Keita’s teammate Emil Forsberg is another that is attracting interest from teams around Europe and the Swedish forward has expressed a desire to leave Leipzig to pursue a new challenge. But the German outfit are equally as keen to hold on to him as they are Keita and if they are to let one player go, it’s believed they would be tempted to cash in on both.

What’s clear is that if Liverpool are to bring Keita to the Premier League anytime soon then it will require an almighty effort and a fee close to the world record.