Liverpool hit major stumbling block in Timo Werner move

Liverpool are reluctant to trigger Timo Werner’s €55 million (£48m) release clause and RB Leipzig are not interested in negotiating a lower fee, according to reports.

Jurgen Klopp has made little secret of his desire to sign the Germany international this summer and was even said to have held a ‘virtual meeting’ to discuss a potential move with the striker.

Werner has been in scintillating form this season, with his hattrick in Leipzig’s 5-0 win against Mainz on Sunday taking his goal tally to 24 in the Bundesliga.

However, according to Bild, the Reds don’t want to pay the 24-year-old’s exit clause before it expires on June 15.

The club’s revenues have taken a big hit since the Premier League was postponed over the coronavirus crisis and any mega-money moves now look in doubt.

But Leipzig are in no mind to lower their valuation of Werner and the German outfit’s CEO Oliver Mintzlaff is ‘relaxed’ about the situation.

‘It won’t get any cheaper. We will not sell a player below value if he is under contract for more than a year,’ Mintzlaff told Bild.

‘In general, we always have to ask the following question: can we replace a player if we sell him for less than his market value?

‘But, I only think about those things once I have the facts on the table.

‘In that case, we will have complete control over the situation. I am relaxed. Timo has a contract over the next three years.’

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