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Klopp set to move quickly to fill Coutinho hole at Liverpool, player keen on deal – report
Liverpool are keen on accelerating their £55m move for Red Bull Leipzig star Naby Keita, according to a report.
The Mirror have said that following the Reds £142 sale of Brazilian attacker Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona, Jurgen Klopp does not want to wait until the season ends to bring in Keita and would be willing to pay more money in order to speed up the African’s arrival on Merseyside.
Guinea international, Keita, will be Liverpool’s record transfer when he signs for the Anfield club officially in the summer.
However, Klopp is now looking into the possibility of bringing the move forward in order to bring the 22-year-old to Liverpool in January.
Keita has been compared to another player the Anfield club have been previously linked with, Leon Goretzka.
The Guinean youngster has played 20 times for the Bundesliga fifth-placed side, including outings in the Champions League and is the third highest goalscorer for the German club behind teammates Timo Werner and Jean-Kévin Augustin.
Football Insider verdict:
Now that Liverpool’s bank balance has been boosted by Coutinho’s sale to Barcelona, Klopp certainly has the cash available should he decide he can no longer wait for the Guinean. It looks as though Leon Goretzka is heading to Bayern Munich and not the Reds as had been suggested, therefore Klopp is in need of midfield reinforcements. We cannot see any reason why Liverpool would choose not to accelerate Keita’s arrival but Leipzig may have other ideas – the Bundesliga outfit are in a battle for the final Champions League spot with Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund and may decide that the 22-year-old is necessary for their European ambitions. We are 50/50 on this one.
In other Liverpool transfer news, Celtic join the race for out of favour striker.
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