It was the summer deal that brought a lot of joy to Liverpool fans, with the Reds managing to sort a £48m transfer for RB Leipzig's Naby Keita.

However, the highly-rated Guinean will not arrive at Anfield until next season, despite the fact that Jurgen Klopp's side could really do with a player like him right now.

Despite the fact that their defence is a total shambles, the midfield also looked incredibly lethargic in the 4-1 defeat at the hands of Tottenham on Sunday.

Jordan Henderson, Emre Can and James Milner were simply outfoxed by Spurs' high-energy and someone like Keita would have been perfect to counteract that.

He is widely regarded as one of the finest in the Bundesliga, with Klopp even saying that he was sent a lot of congratulatory messages from his homeland when he announced his signing.

However, the deal was in the balance for much of the summer and it turns out there was only one turning point that forced Leipzig's hand.

Their sporting director Ralf Rangnick was discussing their star man with German publication Kicker and revealed that had it not been for his wage demands, Leipzig would have kept hold of him.

LIVERPOOL'S WAGE STRUCTURE THE TURNING POINT

“He’s one of the best I’ve worked with in 20 years of professional football,” he said.

“I’d also prefer, 10 times, that we’d kept him for another five years - but we are just not able to pay salaries in excess of €10m.”

So, Liverpool fans have Premier League clubs' exceptional wealth to thank for acquiring one of Europe's most sought-after players.

Bayern Munich are the only club in Germany that could dream of competing with the wages in England's top-flight, hence why a number of the Bundesliga's stars choose to move abroad.

Keita did have a release clause that could have been activated in 2018, which means that even if Leipzig could have met his salary demands, a move to Anfield would have materialised.