Liverpool ready to pay extra to bring in Naby Keita this month after Philippe Coutinho exit
RB Leipzig star - on loan at the club - was due to arrive in the summer but Jurgen Klopp could move quickly to fill void left by Brazilian
LIVERPOOL are ready to pay extra to bring Naby Keita to Anfield this month, according to reports.
Jurgen Klopp is believed to want the Guinea international to fill the hole left by £145million Philippe Coutinho's exit to Barcelona immediately.
And the say Liverpool will pay RB Leipzig - where Keita remains on loan - a premium to acquire his services now.
Their cause could be helped by the fact that the 22-year-old is said to be keen to arrive in England at the earliest opportunity.
However it is believed that Leipzig will take "much persuading" given the midfielder's importance to their Bundesliga campaign.
On top of that, Leipzig missed out on the last 16 of the this year's Champions League.
Latest transfer news
This term they are in a real fight to qualify for next year's competition and need the man with five goals to his name so far this season.
Keita is due to officially join Liverpool on July 1 this year.
The Kop club have splashed £48m on Keita.
It is not clear how much a premium would be but the idea of Liverpool paying an additional fee to bring in Keita sooner has been touted before.
Latest football news
Liverpool though, it is believed, will not be strong-armed into paying too much despite their massive windfall from the sale of Coutinho.
The Reds are reviewing all of their long-term targets and could move quickly this month should an opportunity present itself.