Jurgen Klopp seemingly gives up on Naby Keita chase after admitting Liverpool were 'too late'
The Reds saw a second bid worth £66m rejected by RB Leipzig this week
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Your support makes all the difference.Jurgen Klopp has seemingly conceded defeat in Liverpool’s attempt to sign Naby Keita by admitting he was “a little bit too late” and that RB Leipzig are “lucky” they do not need to sell.
The Reds are currently considering their next move after seeing their £66m bid to sign the midfielder rejected by the Bundesliga runners-up this week, after previously seeing a £57.3m bid also turned down.
Red Bull’s co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz confirmed there was “no way” Leipzig would take the money on offer and Klopp said the club were “lucky” if they felt they didn’t need to sell players.
Asked about the billionaire's comments, Klopp said: “Mr Mateschitz? What did he say? Lucky man, huh?
“They don’t have to sell players. When I was at Dortmund we always had to sell players.
“Meanwhile, they don’t have to sell players any more so, obviously, I’m always a little bit too late.
“What can I say? There's nothing to say about this.”
Leipzig have made a number of public attempts to ward off interest for their stars this summer and have repeatedly made it clear they do not wish to enter talks to sell.
Last week, RB Leipzig head coach Ralph Hasnhuttl insisted that both Keita and Arsenal target Emil Forsberg ‘feel great’ at the club and are “looking forward to the new season” in Germany.
“You can see that they feel great here and are looking forward to the new season,” Hasenhuttl told German magazine Kicker. “They know very well what they have here.
“It's a huge compliment for us that we awoke such desires, but it's not the general idea of our path to allow players a transfer following the first available offer.
“Our goal is to become a big and established club, and what we did this summer is a substantial step towards it.”
While Liverpool are ready to break their transfer record for the player, Leipzig are desperate to see the player renew his contract in the autumn.
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