Jurgen Klopp knows that his primary midfield target Naby Keita has a release clause that becomes active next summer of just £48m.
But while this seems an affordable sum for the Bundesliga’s best midfielder last season, Jurgen Klopp is desperate to bring the Guinean 22-year-old this transfer window.
Along with Mo Salah (already signed) and Virgil van Dijk, Keita has been earmarked by our manager as one of the players to take us to the next level ahead of the 2017/18 Champions League campaign.
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However, this is going to cost Liverpool £70m, say the Echo, making Keita one of the most expensive players of all time – roughly doubling our transfer record in the process.
For a midfielder who was basically unknown before his excellent debut Red Bull Leipzig campaign, this is excessive – especially for Liverpool who’ve been frugal in recent years.
Klopp and the club could decide to gamble on the extravagant sum now, or hope to get in a different midfielder such as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and hope the likes of Bayern Munich don’t steal Keita in 2018.