“Looks extremely unlikely” – Fabrizio Romano says Liverpool-linked midfielder is now ‘expected to stay’ at current club

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano believes RB Leipzig have no intention of selling midfielder Konrad Laimer amid interest from Liverpool.

Romano has claimed that the Reds considered Laimer a cheap midfield option as he is out of contract next summer. However, the Bundesliga club have declared they have no intention of selling the Austrian unless they receive a 'crazy bid.'

Laimer is a highly-rated player who can play in defensive midfield and on the right flank and has 24 Austria caps to his name. The midfielder moved to Leipzig in 2017 from RB Salzburg and has since scored 11 times in 164 appearances for the club.

The Austrian has played three times so far this term but does have a patchy injury record. He missed the majority of the 2020-21 season due to a fractured ankle and the start of the current campaign due to more ankle problems.

Liverpool are in need of a new central midfielder to bolster their options for the grueling season that lies ahead. Thiago Alcantara, Curtis Jones, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita are all currently out through injury.

Many have called for the average age of the midfield to be brought down, with Thiago, James Milner and Jordan Henderson all in their 30s.

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Jurgen Klopp hints Liverpool may still be in the market for midfielder this summer

The issue of Liverpool's midfield has been brought up with Klopp in recent weeks, particularly since Thiago's injury.

When asked if Liverpool were still chasing an option before the transfer window slams shut on September 1, the German boss stated (as per This Is Anfield):

“The closer we get to the last minute the more unlikely it gets, that’s how it is, but we are not out. It’s difficult because, there are for sure some players out there that would be the right ones, but they have different issues some of them are contracts, clubs don’t want to sell, these kinds of things."

“That’s how it is. We cannot force it. We will see. Thursday 11 pm [is the deadline], there is still time. But when it’s then over and we’ve signed or not signed [a player] then I’m really happy about that because we can stop thinking about it.”

Klopp added:

“In that moment, we can just focus on the squad we have, the team we have, be ready to face all the problems we will have in the season, face them and solve them together. Our supporters who are pretty active on social media can just stop doing that because we have a good football team."