Timo Werner ready to join Liverpool if £52m release clause met https://www.skysports.com
RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner is ready to sign for Liverpool if they pay his £52m release clause before it expires on June 15.
But Liverpool, like in January, do not intend to make a move for Werner before his release clause expires.
Werner, whose release clause was inserted when he extended his contract last summer until 2023, described his pride at interest from the Premier League leaders in February.
The Germany international was close to joining Bayern Munich last summer in a €30m deal and the Bundesliga leaders remain interested in signing him.
Werner has also hailed countryman Jurgen Klopp as "the best coach in the world" and believes Liverpool's style of play suits him amid reports of a move to Anfield.
He has scored 27 goals in all competitions this season for RB Leipzig, including four to help his club reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
Former Liverpool captain Graeme Souness:
"I think [Liverpool will strengthen] up front, and that's why I think they will go after Werner," he told The Football Show.
"When we were the dominant team during my time as a player, every summer they spent money and brought players in. It was the Liverpool way.
"I'm thinking of Fabinho and Andy Robertson, they have bought players in the past that do not need to slot into the side straight away, or make an instant impression, and that's a great place to be.
"Liverpool are there, where they can cherry-pick the best, and they do not have to come in and be a superstar from the first game onwards, and the pressure is off them, so they can look around and figure out what it takes to be a Liverpool player."
Bundesliga ready to return on May 9 - if German government approves https://www.skysports.com/
The Bundesliga is ready to return on May 9 if the German government gives it the green light, league officials have confirmed.
The league has been suspended since mid-March due to the outbreak of coronavirus, which has infIts resumption, behind closed doors, remains dependent on government and all federal states' approval, and Bundesliga chief executive Christian Seifert warned providing an exact date "would be presumptuous and is not in our hands".ected more than 148,000 and killed over 5,000 people in Germany.
"If we should start on May 9, we are ready. If it is later we will be ready again," Seifert said.
"We can only offer the framework conditions."
Finishing the 2019/20 season remains the priority in German football, with Seifert insisting failing to do so would mean "the Bundesliga would be a collateral damage to the coronavirus crisis".
A maximum of 300 people can be involved at the stadium on match day, according to Sky in Germany.
"I, as a representative of the professional clubs, cannot have that as my goal," he said.
The Bundesliga is collaborating with five different laboratories to ensure adequate testing for coronavirus.
Players will be tested at least once a week, which would require around 20,000 tests for this season.
The 7.5 million euro solidarity fund donated by Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen will go to the third division and women's Bundesliga.
Regional leaders in Bavaria and North-Rhine Westphalia said this week it was possible for the league to resume without spectators after May 9 and under strict health and safety conditions.
The league has warned that many clubs in the first and second divisions faced an uncertain financial future and several would be in an "existence-threatening" situation if play did not resume by June.
Some German shops opened for business again this week, after a month of lockdown, in an agreement with the leaders of Germany's 16 states.
Kevin De Bruyne exclusive: I'm now the complete player
Kevin De Bruyne feels he has become "the complete player" and reveals his pride at being described as the best midfielder in the world.
Though his Manchester City side have stumbled in the Premier League behind Liverpool, the Belgian was the current champions' outstanding performer before football was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The injury problems of last year are now firmly behind him. He has only missed three Premier League games this season and it is no coincidence that City lost them all.
Speaking to Jamie Redknapp on The Football Show from his home while on lockdown, De Bruyne feels the consistency within his game has helped him become "a complete player".
"It's difficult to comment on form but I'm the most complete player now," he said.
"In every aspect of the game now I feel really comfortable. At Wolfsburg, I did incredibly well but I was more up and down but the past three seasons, maybe a little less last season, I'm happy as I'm playing at a constant level.
"From the first game against West Ham to the last against Real Madrid, I've played really well. That makes it satisfying that I can be consistently good at a good enough level to perform."
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher singled out De Bruyne for special praise earlier this season, describing him as "the best in the world" in his position while Redknapp has consistency called the midfielder the best passer in Premier League history and nominated him as his player of the season.
De Bruyne celebrates scoring for Manchester City against Arsenal
De Bruyne's stats speak for themselves: he has four more assists, has created 21 more chances and seven more big chances than any other Premier League player. He also tops the Premier League charts for successful passes into the final third and successful crosses and corners.
When asked about the debate regarding his status as the best in the world, De Bruyne is happy his name is among the elite.
"It feels me with pride," he said.
"As a footballer, you're on a long journey. At the start you just want to be a player - it's impossible to think you'll become one of the best in the world. The main thing for me is winning but when that goes on you want to evolve as a player and get higher."
He added: "I've never modelled my game on anyone. There's lots of players I admire who I like to watch but I like to be unique. I think my style is quite unique. As a midfield player, you have to be complete. The game has evolved so much that you have to work so hard to be able to do everything - in attack and defence."
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