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Cape Town - Liverpool won't be signing RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner this month, but he may well end up at Anfield at the end of the season.
Werner has been linked with the Reds on and off for the past two years now and he's certainly a player Jurgen Klopp is a big fan of.
The Germany international is on the radar of a whole host of top European teams but it appears Liverpool are the firm favourites to land him as Klopp - aided by transfer guru Michael Edwards - attempts to pull off another coup in the market.
Not that Werner will come particularly cheap. The 23-year-old's scoring record for both club and country in the past few years means his profile and stock has risen with virtually every passing game and the European and world champions will likely have to shell out a figure in excess of £50 million to secure his services.
Werner has a fantastic goal return for Leipzig, hitting 86 in 140 games in all competitions, and he has a better than a goal-a-game ratio in the Bundesliga so far this season with 20 strikes in 18 appearances in the German top flight.
He can also create, too, with 37 assists on his record during his time at Leipzig, and Klopp has watched his career blossom since he first emerged at Stuttgart - the club the Liverpool boss himself grew up supporting.
There are likely to be other contenders for Werner's signature in the summer window after it became clear there would be no deal this month but Klopp is at the front of the queue and all the noises are that he prefers a move to Anfield over everywhere else - Real Madrid included - while Liverpool will be able to attract the top European stars such is their current standing across the continent.
Klopp is wary of trying to improve what is already a fantastic, trophy-winning squad in front of him but, after failing to make any significant additions last summer and only tweaking things slightly with the capture of Takumi Minamino so far this month, he will invest in new talent in June and July in order to ensure complacency doesn't begin to creep in.
Werner would also add considerable competition up front for Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino and if the deal does come off it may increase speculation over one of the current front three joining Real Madrid in a huge £100 million-excess move.
Klopp will obviously be keen to keep his feared front three, but Werner does not look like the sort of marquee capture - for big money - that would be coming in as a bit-part player.
Of course, there could be twists and turns ahead and an injury or shock loss of form may yet put the Premier League giants off but, all things considered, Werner and Liverpool look like the ideal transfer match.
- TeamTalk Media
