Leipzig insist the 22-year-old Guinea
international will not be sold this summer after they qualified for this
season's Champions League.
Keita has been touted as having a £70m price
tag, although he has a £48m release clause in his contract that can be unlocked
next summer.
Liverpool are yet to bid for Keita, who scored
eight league goals last season.
However, manager Jurgen Klopp is a huge
admirer and the Anfield hierarchy look certain to test Leipzig's determination
to keep someone who has been a central figure in their success with a firm
offer.
It also remains to be seen whether Keita
himself is attracted by a move to the Premier League.
If Klopp, who returns to the club's Melwood
training headquarters to start pre-season preparations next week, and Liverpool
do make their interest concrete, the fee involved will have to be well in
excess of the £34m
(39 euros) recently paid to Roma for Mohamed Salah and the
£35m it took to sign Andy Carroll from Newcastle United in
January 2011.
Liverpool's owner Fenway Sports Group is
determined to back Klopp in the market after he took them back into the
Champions League - although they have to get past a play-off first.
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