Leipzig boss: Liverpool target Keita not for sale this summer

Liverpool's hopes of luring RB Leipzig midfielder Naby Keita to Anfield have been dealt what appears to be a final blow.

With reports surfacing that the Reds had cooled their interest after a pair of denials from the Champions League debutant, Leipzig gaffer Ralph Hasenhuttl has adamantly doused the Merseysider's flickering hopes.

Asked about Liverpool's reported withdrawal, Hasenhuttl told reporters, "That's good. The chances of Naby leaving are nil. It's 100 percent that Naby will play this year at Leipzig."

"At the beginning of the transfer period we said we would start the season with all our best players," Hasenhuttle added after the budding side fell 1-0 to Sevilla on Saturday at the Emirates Cup.

Ahead of a maiden voyage in continental waters in just the club's ninth campaign in football, Leipzig has postured itself as a side desperate to keep hold of a young core of Keita, Emil Forsberg and Timo Werner.

"It's important that all the players stay because we are playing for the first time in the Champions League," Hasenhuttle said.

Two rejected bids, the last a handsome fee of €75 million, has warded Liverpool off the chase, but with that exit clause set to drop to €48 million next summer, Jurgen Klopp and Co. are likely to reignite interest in the 22-year-old Guinea international.

Hasenhuttl appears resigned to this fate, closing with, "They (Liverpool) will not be the only one I think. Until next summer we will keep it closed and then we will have a look."