COVID-19 Forces Liverpool To Exit Summer Transfer Talks On RB Leipzig Striker Timo Werner

Timo Werner is unlikely to play for Liverpool next season as reports indicated the Premier League club has ended the negotiations for the rising Bundesliga star to switch sides in the next transfer window. Werner is a priority signing by Jurgen Klopp but money issues created by the coronavirus pandemic will keep the German boss from landing the RB Leipzig striker.

Talks on the transfer deal have been suspended as Liverpool made clear that Leipzig's asking price for Werner's release, said to be fixed at £50 million, is too high for Anfield. And the German side is not open to making adjustments to make the price more affordable.

According to Mirror, Liverpool will not be pursuing Werner anymore as the Leipzig side is denying to offer some flexibility for the deal to be finalized. The best offer that the Reds can make is below £30 million for the exit clause to take effect but the forward's club is unwilling to accept.

The English side has until June 15 to meet the terms of Werner's release but Klopp is unlikely to continue with the deal.

Per the same report, Liverpool will be dealing with projected income shortfalls of up to £100 million, and spending big on the transfer market is no longer a priority for the club. So Klopp is forced to pass up on the prolific goalscorer.

Werner again proved in his last game that he is worth the money. The 24-year-old scored a hat-trick against Mainz on Sunday and his efforts powered his side to a 5-0 win. The striker now boasts of 24 goals in all his Bundesliga games in the season.

Werner's performance in the campaign so far made a deep impression on Klopp and the Liverpool boss has been vocal on his plan to win the signature of the young German. The manager, however, has made clear that his hands are tied right now.

Metro said Klopp has reached out to Werner to confirm that the coronavirus pandemic will make it impossible to complete the transfer talks with Leipzig. An option available for Liverpool is to hold off for the next transfer window and hope that Werner's valuation will move to a more reasonable level.

The German player has still two years to go on his deal with Leipzig and playing on with the club could potentially see a drop on his price tag.

However, Leipzig appeared to be unyielding on the position that Werner's market value will not be downgraded, as stressed by club CEO Oliver Mintzlaff.

The Leipzig chief asserted: "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 said that as far as his club is concerned, Werner is an asset that is not easily replaced so selling the star at a discounted value is out of the question.