RP Leipzig midfielder Naby Keita has agreed personal terms with Liverpool, according to a prominent journalist.
ESPN correspondent and ITV pundit Gabriele Marcotti made the revelation in a broadcast on ESPN on Thursday and then repeated it on his personal Twitter account on Friday morning.
The UK-based journalist explained that his understanding is that Keita has an “agreement in principle” on wages and contract length with the Merseyside giants in a strong indication that he could sign this summer.
That’s my understanding… agreement in principle on wages/contract length
— Gabriele Marcotti (@Marcotti) June 30, 2017
Marcotti explained in a follow-up Twitter message that there was still no agreement on a fee between Liverpool and the cash-rich Bundesliga club, who have qualified for next season’s Champions League.
Realize though that they would still need to agree with Leipzig. And agreements in principle only matter so much.
— Gabriele Marcotti (@Marcotti) June 30, 2017
Speculation has intensified this week that Liverpool are prepared to shatter their transfer record to sign the central midfielder, 22, with Guardian Sport’s deputy news editor Ed Aarons reporting that their pursuit is “gaining momentum”.
Liverpool move for Naby Keita is gaining momentum but reports RB Leipzig want £70m #lfc
— Ed Aarons (@ed_aarons) June 26, 2017
It has been reported in Germany that Leipzig have set a £70million asking price for the Guinea international, although their public stance is simply that they want to hold on to Keita for at least another season.
The box-to-box midfielder has made a huge impact at Leipzig as goalscorer and creator since joining from Red Bull Salzburg last summer.
His 31 league appearances from a relatively deep position yielded eight goals and eight assists, and the 18-times international was a key player as his team qualified for a Champions League place.
Liverpool have already been active in the transfer market, signing winger Mohamed Salah from Roma and forward Dominic Solanke from Chelsea.
It has been widely reported that the fourth-placed team in the 2016-17 league have paid a club-record £39million for Salah.