A round-up of the latest transfer news surrounding Liverpool.
Liverpool continue to pursue new signings this summer, having already brought in winger Mohamed Salah and striker Dominic Solanke.
The Reds now appear to be looking for a centre back and a central midfielder, but the club’s top two targets have proven difficult to sign so far this summer.
RB Leipzig midfielder Naby Keita was been a priority for manager Jurgen Klopp, but the Bundesliga outfit are unsurprisingly putting up a real fight to keep him after reaching the Champions League.
RB Leipzig’s Naby Keita in action with Ingolstadt’s Roger Bernardo (R)
The Guinean international hit eight goals and seven assists for Leipzig last season, and Liverpool had been hoping to add him to boost their midfield options.
However, The Telegraph report that Leipzig directly contacted Liverpool on Wednesday to tell them in no uncertain terms that Keita is not for sale at any price this summer, and Bild tonight report that Liverpool’s new €65million (£57.25million) bid has been rejected.
Meanwhile, the club’s top centre back target has been Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk, and whilst a deal looked close last month, the Saints accused Liverpool of tapping him up, kiboshing the move.
Today, Liverpool boss Klopp was asked about the situation, and told the Liverpool Echo that he is still unable to talk about the possibility of resurrecting a bid for the Dutch defender.
Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk
“Am I allowed to talk about this? I am not! Pretty much everything I could say would be a mistake,” said Klopp. “You or your colleagues wrote everything about this a few weeks ago. I was in Iceland by the way when somebody told me this was in the newspaper. Nothing happened since then, all good so far, so I can’t say anything about this,” he added.
Klopp played the question with a straight bat, but with no other clubs able to agree a deal for Van Dijk, there may still be hope for Liverpool in their pursuit of the Southampton star.
Who would you like to see Liverpool sign this summer?
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
