On Wednesday we covered a report from German magazine Kicker about Liverpool’s plan to get Naby Keita in January rather than wait until the summer transfer window.
Kicker were presenting their own information and said that whilst RB Leipzig have made it known they’d prefer to keep Keita for the rest of the season, it could be a ‘poker’ stance.
This is a favourite term of the German media to explain when a club is getting ready for a tough negotiation, and it very much indicates a deal is possible at the right price.
German newspaper Bild have somewhat backed that up. It’s explained that getting Keita early would cost Liverpool €15-20m, an amount RB Leipzig could then use to invest elsewhere.
Bild also mention ‘poker’, and Liverpool will need to be strong in negotiations if they don’t want to be completely run over by RB Leipzig and pressure to please fans after the Coutinho saga.
Paying an extra €20m would take Keita’s total price to €95m, point out Bild, which seems a little high even in the current market.
