TRANSFER WINDOW RB Leipzig confirm they are open to offers for a top Liverpool and Man United transfer target

Liverpool and Manchester United have been given encouragement in their chase to land a top transfer target after RB Leipzig CEO Oliver Mintzlaff has confirmed Dayot Upamecano could be sold if the price is right.

France defender Upamecano has been heavily linked with Liverpool in recent months, with boss Jurgen Klopp admitting he would like to sign a defender in this months transfer window despite the club's tight financial position amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

United have also been consistently linked with a move for Upamecano, who played against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side in the group stages of this season's Champions League.

While Leipzig chief Mintzlaff did not say when his club would consider a sale for Upamecano and their other star performer Marcel Sabitzer, he confirmed in an interview with Bild that sales would be considered.

"We have a squad that is also very broad in terms of quality," stated Mintzlaff.

“So we will also sell top performers again if it makes financial sense and we can absorb it from a sporting point of view.

"When I think of (Timo) Werner, (Matheus) Cunha, (Naby) Keita or (Diego) Demme, we’ve already made a lot of money and still made progress in terms of sport.

"Overall, we have invested a lot in our team, no question about that. But look: the current squad had a market value of less than 250 million when the individual players made their debut.

"And if we now take the current market value, we are at around €550million. You have to take this plus of over €300million into account when you talk about investments. We are creating value with our path."

While Leipzig don't tend to consider offers for their players in the January window, these comments may inspired clubs interested in Upamecano to test the will of the Bundesliga side at a time when finances are tight for all clubs in European football.

Meanwhile, Reds boss Klopp has confirmed he would like to sign a defender in this month's window after long-term injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, but financial restrictions may block his hopes.

"If the world was in a completely normal place and we have this situation, you could be sure we would try everything to do the right thing now," said the Liverpool boss.

"But the world is not in a normal place so I don't know why we constantly treat a football club like it's independent from all the other struggles around.

"It is not a time for massive investment if you don't have the funds for it. Obviously football clubs live off what they earn. We still don't have supporters in the stadium, a lot of stuff is still different, and that has gone on for a long time.

"So I don't understand why people now talk about the situation like nothing happened. We are still in the middle of a pandemic so that's not the best time we've ever had.

“I cannot go to the owners and say: 'Without that we cannot win anything.' We have to make the best of it, and that is what we have always done. It's not that nobody wants (a defender). The question is if we can."

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