Money-bags Leipzig insist they do not want to sell the £70million-rated Keita on the back of his excellent first season in the Bundesliga.
Chief executive Oliver Mintzlaff claims it would be “irresponsible” to cash in on the Guinea international before their first Champions League campaign.
Liverpool want to discover if Leipzig and Mintzlaff’s talk is just bluster and are keen to open talks over a fee.
The Reds broke their transfer record to land Mohamed Salah from Roma for £36.9million and are prepared to smash it to sign Keita in a sign of how serious they are about bringing him to Anfield.