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Liverpool likely to make bid in excess of £70m for 22-year-old international - report
By Aramide Oladipo
Liverpool are prepared to make one final bid in order to land RB Leipzig midfielder Naby Keita this summer, according to a report.
The Mirror claims that Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has pushed the club to make one last push for the 22-year-old and they are now “likely” to table a bid worth more than £70million for him next week.
This comes after reliable journalist Chris Williams revealed on his official Twitter account that Keita’s move to the Premier League could be a “formality” this summer.
It is said that the German manager will only consider other options once he is certain that the Reds have no chance of securing the midfielder’s signature.
The report claims that Klopp is a huge admirer of Schalke midfielder Leon Goretzka but Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich are leading the race to sign him this summer.
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The newspaper claims that the midfielder is desperate to secure a move to Anfield next season and he has reportedly informed his advisors to do everything within their power to secure his move away from the Bundesliga.
Keita only signed for Leipzig last summer but he enjoyed a sensational debut campaign, scoring eight goals and providing eight assists in all competitions last season.
The midfielder currently has three years remaining on his contract with the German team.
Football Insider verdict
Liverpool should not place all their eggs in one basket in their pursuit of Keita this summer. The Guinea international proved to be a wonderful talent in his first campaign in Germany last season but he is certainly not worth £70million even in this transfer market. Keita is still a very young player and Klopp should potentially wait to see how he performs in the Champions League next season with Leipzig. The Reds must seriously consider other midfield options with top flight and Champions League experience. Klopp will be desperate to win some silverware in his third season at the club and in order to achieve this, he needs to add more quality to the squad in the right areas.
In other Liverpool transfer news, Barcelona are to offer two players in part-exchange for £134million Philippe Coutinho.
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