RB Leipzig will not let Naby Keita join Liverpool early

RB Leipzig will not allow midfielder Naby Keita to join Liverpool this month, the Bundesliga club's sports director Ralf Rangnick has announced.

The Guinea international is set to link up with Liverpool from July 1st after the Premier League outfit agreed a big-money deal to sign him last August.

Liverpool, who sold Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona earlier this month, were keen to bring the transfer forward to secure Keita's services this month, but Rangnick has stepped in to set the record straight.

Rangnick said on the club’s official website: “We won’t allow Liverpool to sign him early, even though they have shown renewed interest to bring him in during this transfer window.

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“As everyone knows, we are not a selling club, therefore it would only have been possible had we reached a mutual agreement involving an exorbitant additional fee. That is not the case.”

The 22-year-old enhanced his reputation as one of Europe’s hottest properties last season, helping Leipzig finished second in the Bundesliga and qualify for the Champions League.