Naby Keita (Picture: Getty)
Naby Keita (Picture: Getty)

Liverpool will have to smash their transfer record to buy Naby Keita this summer, reports say.

The RB Leipzig star has been firmly marked not for sale by his club as several sides plot summer bids.

Jurgen Klopp has ordered Liverpool to purchase the rising star who has been a revelation in his first season in the Bundesliga.

Keita scored eight goals in 31 league appearances and provided a further eight assists to his team-mates.

(Picture: Getty)
(Picture: Getty)

The 22-year-old arrived from Leipzig’s sister club, Red Bull Salzburg, in the summer and has become an integral part of Germany’s surprise package.

Leipzig finished second in the league despite only gaining promotion to the top flight in 2016.

Klopp is desperate to add pace and width to his side and has put Keita at the top of his wishlist, according to the Times.

(Picture: Getty)

But Leipzig will not entertain any offers below £50 million for the attacker and warned off suitors for their prized asset.

‘We have decided that we will not sell any player from our starting line-up,’ chief executive Oliver Mintzlaff told the Times.

(Picture: Getty)
(Picture: Getty)

‘Ralf Rangnick [Leipzig’s sporting director] told this to our team at the end of the season.

‘We will keep our team together and keep on developing.’

Liverpool’s current transfer record is the £35 million they paid for Andy Carroll six years ago.

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