Former Liverpool striker-turned-pundit Michael Owen insists that the Reds are close to securing the club-record signing of midfielder Naby Keita from RB Leipzig.
The Guinea international put up an all-round performance for the Bundesliga newcomers last season as his eight goals and eight assists helped the club to a second-place finish.
The Reds have failed with two bids worth £50m and £66m for the midfield enforcer this summer, and they are set to return with a third offer of £70m, which many sources believe would be sufficient to seal an agreement. In a report by The Mirror, Owen suggests that his former club are ‘on the cusp’ of signing Keita, who has already earned comparisons with Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante for his tireless workrate.
“They are on the cusp of signing Keita, and that could be an amazing signing if that came off,” he told The Mirror. Meanwhile, he also praised the club’s recruitment of Mohamed Salah, who has significantly bolstered the Reds attack ahead of their Champions League playoffs next month.
He added: “I think Salah is a really good signing, he didn’t quite nail it at Chelsea, but he was young at the time. He’s gone away, he had a good time at Roma, he’s got outstanding pace and if you’re an attacking player with loads of pace then you’re valuable. I think Liverpool are now looking like a team with a real potent attack.”
Jurgen Klopp has repeatedly stated that the club would be patient with their buys during a difficult transfer window, and he recently laughed off the suggestion that the Reds had failed with a fresh attempt to sign Keita. Liverpool are also maintaining their focus on signing Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk, but the deal is still far off after the Saints accused the Reds of tapping up the player earlier last month.