As Liverpool continue to be linked with every attacker under the sun, multiplereports out of Italy are suggesting that the Reds have had an opening bid of £16mil turned down for the services of highly rated youngster Keita Balde Diao.
The 19-year old has been on the radar of the Anfield outfit for quite some time now with his agent quoted last year that interested clubs would need to forked out at least £12.5mil for his services. “If he was to leave Lazio, we will never find a club in Italy that will buy him, assuming the important figures that Claudio Lotito would ask for” said Ulisse Savani. “How much is he worth? If a say a price Lotito will contradict me. But at present, according to my judgment, he cannot be worth less than €15million.” It appears that his clients stock has risen substantially since we last spoke.
The winger-cum-striker, who started out at Barcelona before to Italy back in 2011 for the piddly sum of £250,000, will reportedly command a fee in the region of £24mil if Lazio get their way. Keita found the back of the net 11-times in 39-appearances in all competitions for the Biancocelesti last season and early indicators point to improvement as the years go on.
The Reds continue to be linked with a wealthofattackingoptions as they look to fill the void left by Luis Suarez when he jumped ship for Catalonia last month. Although this could very well just be another rumour in a long stream of tall tales, the player’s agent has indicated that he’d be a good fit in the Premier League. “I think Keita would be fine with a future in English football. I think that it is much better there than in Germany, for example” he continued. “We have a contract until 2017. It is obvious in the football business around the world that it is normal to receive attention from some foreign teams every weekend.”
