Timo Werner has been linked with a move from RB Leipzig to Liverpool in the summer which could see the Reds smash their transfer record again.
German national news outlet Bild am Sonntag published an exclusive on Sunday afternoon that Klopp is keen on bringing the 22-year-old forward to Anfield at the end of the season.
With the future of Leipzig head coach Ralph Hasenhüttl now up for debate, Bild report that Werner is looking for a transfer.
It is further reported that Jurgen Klopp is said to be interested in bringing the striker to Anfield in a deal that could reach £87 million (€100 million).
Werner has been prolific of late and is now favourite to lead the German national side attack in Russia at this summer’s World Cup. With 18 goals and six assists across 37 games for Leipzig so far this season, he is a centre-forward who would be in demand should they sanction a move.
Any move could be complicated by the fact Werner is under contract until 2020, with Leipzig seeking to extend that to 2023 before the start of the World Cup. Should Werner be allowed to move to Liverpool he would join current Leipzig teammate Naby Keita, who joins the Reds in July for a fee that could reach €75 million should the Saxony side qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League.
Bild also report that Klopp is in contact with Werner’s agent, Karlheinz Förster citing the Liverpool manager is a ‘huge fan’ of the Swabian.
However, Werner gave an exclusive interview to Kicker on Sunday evening whilst on international duty with Germany.
The forward explained that he was keen to clarify that his future is concurrent with the conversation he had with RB Leipzig Sporting Director, Ralph Rangnick.
“I did not want to clarify anything (with regards to my future), just repeat what our sporting director Ralf Rangnick has always said, that he would not let me go – even if I wanted to – in the summer anyway,” the 22-year-old said.
“Ralph Rangnick says to me that I will stay, no matter what happens – as will those around me, I think we will have two or three very good new players coming in the summer”
Liverpool were repeatedly told last summer by Rangnick that Keita would not be allowed to leave Leipzig under any circumstance, before a deal was agreed that allowed the Guinean international to join Liverpool in 2018.
The news from Germany follows on from a report in the Independent earlier this month that said the Reds were preparing a bid for the talented forward.
Meanwhile, reporter Jan Age Fjortoft says the “rumour is hot in Germany right now” and “it will be the signing of the summer.”
IF, IF Klopp manages to get Timo Werner from RB Leipzig. It will be the signing of the summer.
He is brilliant. I saw him live Friday.The rumor is hot in Germany right now #lfc
— Jan Aage Fjørtoft ???? ?? ?? (@JanAageFjortoft) March 25, 2018
Signing Werner would add depth to Liverpool’s already stellar attack, and open the potential for Roberto Firmino to play as the No.10, with Klopp shifting to a 4-2-3-1 formation.
OPINION: Why Werner ticks all the boxes as Liverpool’s attacking signing this summer
Fan Comments