Liverpool target Timo Werner has been warned against joining the Premier League leaders by RB Leipzig manager Ralf Rangnick.
Jurgen Klopp is a long-term admirer of Germany striker Werner, who has been linked with a move to Anfield to provide competition for Roberto Firmino and strengthen the Reds’ attacking options.
But Rangnick has given a word of warning to his star man, saying former RB Leipzig team-mate Naby Keita has not looked the same player since joining the Reds in the summer.
Keita finally became a Liverpool player last year, 12 months after agreeing a £52million move to the Merseyside club, but the midfielder has struggled for form and regular game time during his first season in the Premier League.
And Leipzig boss Ralf Rangnick says Werner – who has 14 goals for club and country this season – should be wary of joining him at Anfield.
“Keita was an outstanding player here, but he’s still struggling in Liverpool ,” the manager told Sky Germany.
“So far, he’s not the player there that he was here. The surroundings must be right for Timo. That’s the case here.”
Werner’s current contract expires in the summer of 2020, but it is rumoured he could be sold in the upcoming summer transfer window having so far refused to pen a new deal.
Linked with German giants Bayern Munich as well as Liverpool, the 22-year-old has so far said no to offers of fresh terms, and Rangnick has revealed the club simply cannot afford to compete with the wages on offer at other clubs.
“We have gone to our financial limits with our offer,” added the boss.
“We know that he can earn more elsewhere, but he can also provide for himself for the rest of his life here. Financial aspects will not be the decisive factor, but rather the sporting perspective.
“We’re trying to keep him. He knows he’s very popular in the team, with the coach and the fans. He’s a top player, and he has become one of the most exciting Bundesliga strikers in the country.
“He still has one-and-a-half years left of his contract, and I hope that he’ll stay. But in the end, it’s up to him.”