Transfer Centre

Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool dealt blow in Lois Openda pursuit?

By Andrew Delaney, Reporter | 10 October 2023

Man United, Chelsea, Liverpool dealt blow in Openda pursuit?

Lois Openda is reportedly unlikely to leave RB Leipzig in January, despite interest from Premier League trio Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.

Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have reportedly suffered a blow in their pursuit of Belgium international Lois Openda.

RB Leipzig only signed the Belgian during the summer for a reported fee of £37.1m, after he had impressed with Lens last season.

Openda was one of the most prolific strikers in Ligue 1 during the 2022/23 campaign, and his 21 league goals contributed massively to the club's second-placed finish.

That saw Lens end their two-decade wait to qualify for the Champions League again, but the French club sold up after receiving such a big offer from Leipzig.

The Bundesliga side were on the hunt for a new attacker for much of the year, after terms were agreed early for Christopher Nkunku to join Chelsea.

Openda has since arrived and made an instant impact with Die Roten Bullen, scoring five goals already, including strikes against Bayern Munich, Manchester City and high-flying Bayer Leverkusen.

RB Leipzig's Lois Openda celebrates scoring their first goal on October 4, 2023 © Reuters

That form has seen rumours surface that Premier League clubs may be in for the 23-year-old when the transfer window reopens in January.

However, after selling numerous key players over the summer, Football Insider claims that Leipzig will fend off interest for any more of their key players for the time being.

Nkunku was among a trio of big names that departed the Red Bull Arena, along with Josko Gvardiol and Dominik Szoboszlai, with all three moving to the Premier League.

The French attacker has not yet featured for Chelsea in a competitive fixture though, after suffering a serious injury in pre-season.

Even though the recent news that Nicolas Jackson undergoing surgery is not for any kind of serious injury, Chelsea will still be expected to dip into the market for another forward this January.

Leipzig have no need to sell so soon though, considering that Openda signed a five-year deal with the club when joining in the summer.