Jurgen Klopp may have blocked Man Utd from signing 'stunning' €80m player in January

Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool may have inadvertently prevented rivals Manchester United from being able to sign one of their reported targets in January.

Liverpool have made a much stronger start to the new season than United, with the Merseyside club currently five points and six places better off in the Premier League table.

Klopp's side have been boosted by several new signings, with Dominik Szoboszlai particularly impressing in the early weeks of the new campaign.

Szoboszlai, 22, joined the Reds in a £60m move from RB Leipzig in the summer and has already caught in the eye with his energetic performances in midfield.

The Hungarian's move to Anfield could prevent one of his former teammates from also making the switch to the Premier League.

According to Football Insider, RB Leipzig will not entertain January offers for striker Lois Openda amid reported interest from United and other English clubs – including both Liverpool and Arsenal.

Openda has already scored five goals and provided two assists in 10 games for Leipzig after joining from Lens in the summer.

Leipzig signed Openda in a deal worth an initial €43m (£37m) after being convinced by his 'stunning' debut season in Ligue 1, in which he scored 21 goals in 38 games.

Leipzig lost a number of key players to the Premier League in the summer window - including Szoboszlai, and Josko Gvardiol and Christopher Nkunku – who joined Manchester City and Chelsea respectively.

The German club are therefore reluctant to weaken their squad any further in January and will not consider selling Openda so soon after signing him.

United may have struggled to afford the Ecuador international in January, with BILD journalist Christian Falk reporting that the player is set to have a release clause of more than €80m [£69m] in his Leipzig contract - but only from next year.

"Leipzig are a little relaxed at the moment, as next summer there's no active release clause for Lois Openda," wrote Falk, in Fabrizio Romano's Daily Briefing.

"It begins in 2025 and I heard it's a bit higher than the €80m that has been reported elsewhere.

"I'm sure that clubs like Liverpool will be keeping an eye on him. You've already seen with Dominik Szoboszlai that they've had a mostly positive experience with RB Leipzig players.

"It's also worth noting the similarity in style between the two clubs, which is obviously of benefit to Liverpool."

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