Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd join Liverpool's race for Bundesliga star

Tom Weber

9 Dec 2023 08:02 CST
3 min read

Timo Werner, Xavi Simons, Loïs Openda, RB Leipzig — © ProShots

Lois Openda is quickly becoming one of Europe's most sought-after players.

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The Belgian sharpshooter is tearing it up at RB Leipzig after his club-record €38.5 million transfer from RC Lens in the summer. The 23-year-old forced through the move, believing that the Bundesliga club would offer the ideal next step for his career and so far he has been proved correct.

Openda has netted 14 goals in all competitions this term, scoring a whopping three times against Man City in the Champions League alone. He has formed one of the Bundesliga's deadliest duos with PSG loanee Xavi Simons and his transfer value has skyrocketed accordingly.

Since his summer move to Leipzig, Openda's Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) has exploded from €26m to a stunning €52m, an increase of some €26m. This hasn't gone unnoticed outside of Germany, of course, and the Belgian is now attracting the attention of the Premier League's biggest hitters.

Openda a wanted man

Liverpool have been linked with the 23-year-old for several weeks, but now the rest of English football's elite has joined the Reds in pursuit of Openda, according to transfer expert Ekrem Konur.

He asserts that Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd and Man City have all been scouting Openda in action for Leipzig, with City feeling his goalscoring prowess first-hand. The Belgian, it should be recalled, was already linked with Arsenal in the summer before making the switch to Germany.

It remains to be seen whether Leipzig would be willing to entertain offers in 2024, knowing that they could get as much as €80m for him the following year when a release clause in his contract becomes active. However, if he keeps scoring at his current rate, the Bundesliga outfit will feel that they can get even more for him, which could force them into selling next year.