Liverpool were tipped to agree a deal for Keita on Sunday.

The Guinea international is already set to join the Reds next summer.

But Liverpool wanted to fast forward the deal six months after selling Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona.

Keita appeared to have waved goodbye to the Leipzig fans on Saturday after scoring in their 3-1 win over Schalke.

But the deal could not be agreed, which led Leipzig to issue a statement that read: "OFFICIAL: Naby Keita will remain an Leipzig player until 30th June 2018. We wish to put the speculation about a January move to LFC to bed."

German newspaper Bild claim the move collapsed when Leipzig demanded £17.8m (€20m) up front for the player.

Leipzig director of sport Ralf Rangnick said: “[The transfer] would only have been possible if we had reached an amicable solution in the sense of an exorbitant additional transfer payment."

Liverpool are expected to spend £48m on Keita in the summer after triggering his release clause at the start of the season.

Keita has already registered his business, NK8 Limited, in the UK.

The winger was not missed on Sunday, however, as Liverpool beat league leaders Manchester City 4-3 at Anfield.

As a reaction to the Keita deal collapsing, Liverpool are said to have contacted Thomas Lemar and Riyad Mahrez about coming to Merseyside this month.

However, the Reds are not willing to spend big money on new recruits, knowing Keita is guaranteed to them in the summer.